A RIOT AWAITS CAITLIN CLARK IF THE WNBA COMMISSIONER ALLOWS MORE HATRED
In a young season, Clark was confronted by Angel Reese and avoided ugliness with Rhyne Howard while Brittney Griner said, “trash … f—ing white girl,” — which means boss Cathy Engelbert is hopeless
She tries to enjoy a regular life, attending concerts with her boyfriend, believing her fantasy is intact. But every time Caitlin Clark is absorbed by the enormity of the public eye, I worry about safety and a nearby ambulance. Is she prepared for a major brawl, on the basketball court and off the court?
This is by no fault of hers, a hatred prompted by her white skin and her upbringing in an Iowa town where 78.3 percent of the people are white and 3.55 percent of the people are Black. Clark has been fair about the racial foundation of the WNBA. “I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” she said. “A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them.
“The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies investing in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing.”
In spite of Clark’s response, she is abused by daily hate threats involving race and sexual orientation. More than 60 percent of the league’s players are Black. Some players are gay. In the first days of a new season, rival Angel Reese charged after her and was restrained after Clark yanked her with an arm — a tough basketball play but not worthy of the harsh reaction. The other night, Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard followed her around the court, prompting Clark to say, “I’m not scared of you.”
When is this hostility going to end? In the same game, Brittney Griner — Joe Biden traded Viktor Bout, the “Merchant of Death,” after she stashed weed on a Russia flight — appeared to say “trash” and followed with, “f—ing white girl.” It was intended for Clark.
Last season, she was smacked in the eye by DiJonai Carrington — who laughed about it — and was hip-checked by Chennedy Carter. There were other incidents, such as a comment by three-time MVP A’ja Wilson, who said Clark was popular because of her race. “It doesn’t matter what we all do as Black women, we’re still going to be swept underneath the rug,” Wilson said. “That’s why it boils my blood when people say it’s not about race because it is.” On June 7, when Clark and the Indiana Fever face Reese and the Chicago Sky at the United Center, what’s next?
Malice at the Palace, women’s version?
I have made suggestions about a new WNBA commissioner. The job is too big for Cathy Engelbert. Barack Obama isn’t doing much other than preserving his marriage. Why not ask him, Adam Silver? He loves basketball. He loves Clark. Wouldn’t he bring peace when riots are about to happen? All I know: An Indiana professor has done work and suggests Clark is worth about $1 billion to the league this season. Her worth will expand next year, when the league enters an 11-year media deal worth $2.2 billion. Clark is woefully underpaid, at under $90,000. So are other players. The league is growing in massive forms, but players will be gypped for the next decade.
Why would a commissioner blow it with constant disturbances?
The turmoil is endless with Clark, followed by sellout audiences who adore her and want no harm. With 2.9 seconds left in regulation Saturday, an official did not whistle a foul for Clark, who was guarded by Natasha Cloud. The New York Liberty won, 90-88.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. … Are you serious?” Clark said.
“It’s pretty egregious what’s been happening to us the last few games,” Fever coach Stephanie White said.
Even the media are enraged. ESPN’s Ryan Clark lost his mind when he said Fox Sports commentator Robert Griffin III, his former colleague, defended Clark after the Reese skirmish because Griffin’s wife is white. “You haven’t had opportunities to have those conversations to educate you on what they’re feeling, what Black women deal with, what they’re seeing when they think of a young Angel Reese,” Clark said on a podcast. “The whole time he’s mimicking Angel Reese, bobbing his head and moving his neck while he’s doing this whole piece, his wife is in the background mirroring him and clapping. To me, this is another situation this young lady has to deal with.”
On a subsequent video, Griffin described Clark as “cowardly, spineless and weak.” Clark fired back, saying Griffin was a bad teammate at ESPN and when they played together for Washington in the NFL.
Stephen A. Smith defended both of them.
There is no room for a middleman. Some night soon, my cellphone will screech while Clark is in a wild rampage. She is worth $1 billion.
Someone please fix the problems before the ambulance is called.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.