The Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark has been the most exciting thing to happen to the WNBA in, like, forever. Understandably she's been given a lot of credit for bringing more eyes on the sport and the league in hopes that interest in the WNBA will soon be on a level that matches the popularity of the NBA.
But along with that praise has come the criticism, with much of it being catty and uncalled for, likely borne out of jealousy, and with some of it, unfortunately, tinged with racial undertones.
Case in point, The View's race-hustling queen Sunny Hostin:
Sunny Hostin: WNBA player Caitlin Clark is only popular because she's white and not Iesbian pic.twitter.com/Md61iQFRZO
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 23, 2024
READ MORE: WNBA Player A’ja Wilson Gets Shoe Endorsement Deal, Has a Fit Because Caitlin Clark Got One First
After podcast comments from NBA superstar LeBron James noting that he was rooting for her and that it made no sense why so much hate was being directed towards Clark from certain corners, former NBA player Charles Barkley also weighed in as only he can, telling the haters during an "Inside the NBA" TV broadcast to stop being so petty (language warning):
“You women out there, y’all petty, man! LeBron, you’re 100 percent right on these girls hating on Clark. Y’all petty, girls! I expect men to be petty because we’re the most insecure group in the world. Y’all should be thanking that girl for getting y’all a** private charters, all the money and visibility she’s bringing to the WNBA. Don’t be petty like dudes!
Listen, what she’s accomplished, give her her flowers! Stop being petty, all you women out there! She got y’all a** charters! She’s bringing all y’all this money to the table, but y’all are being petty like dudes! LeBron, you’re 100 percent right. Y’all girls, stop being petty! Caitlin Clark, thank you for bringing all that money and shine to the WNBA.”
Watch:
"You women out there, ya'll petty, man. Hey, LeBron, you're 100% right on these girls hating on Caitlin Clark. Ya'll petty, girls. I expect men to be petty, because we're the most insecure group in the world... Don't be petty like dudes..." - Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/4MLW2PHzHl
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 23, 2024
As I've said before, to her credit, though she is THE story in the WNBA right now, Clark is branding herself as more of a team player than a star player, something my colleague Jerry Wilson has previously observed about her.
In essence, from what little I know of her, she's the anti-Megan Rapinoe in that Clark doesn't make it about herself but her team. Contrary to so many others in the professional sports world, her ego is secondary to her goal of helping her team have a winning season.
That is a huge plus as far as I'm concerned.
Haters are gonna hate, and while there are most definitely Caitlin haters out there, if she's smart she'll ignore them and do as James suggested - drown out all the noise and focus on fine-tuning her craft. Because at the end of the day, one of the best ways to shut down a critic is to become so good at what you do that you leave them speechless.
I'd say Clark is well on her way to doing just that.
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