The Race of Caitlin Clark

[DGS49]

Caitlin Clark, much like Larry Bird, the focus of talks about race and double standards in sports

By KYLE HIGHTOWER For much of the past two years, Caitlin Clark has been the centerpiece of the college basketball world. Now Clark, like NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird was 45 years ago, is involunta…

www.news-herald.com

Many Americans of black African ancestry are...well...pissed that Caitlin Clark is getting so much attention, and possibly even more so by her being showered with endorsement money to a level that no Black female BB player has ever even dreamed of. And in all candor, Caitlin Clark is not that great a BB player and unless the defenses decide for financial reasons not to cover her very tightly, she will become nothing more than a fair-to-middling player in the WNBA, regardless of how many "white" sisters come out to see her play.

The linked article compares her to Larry Bird, but a better comparison would be to Pete Maravich, whose college scoring record she is rumored to have broken. Pete Maravich came into the NBA as an untried rookie who most observers thought would not even be a standout (they were wrong, of course). Maravich's first rookie contract gave him more than three times the salary of Atlanta's established star and leader, "Sweet Lou" Hudson. Do ya think the Black stars in the NBA were pissed about that?

But is it racism or capitalism that these examples display? [Ignore for a moment the fact that 90% of Clark's money will be from outside sources, and not her WNBA salary]. Both Maravich and Clark will put butts in the seats and millions of viewers on the Boob Tube. Only generational Black talents like Wilt, MJ, and LeBron can have a similar effect, regardless of how worthy other Black stars are. And like it or not, the vast, vast, vast majority of those butts and viewers will be "white."

At whom should the pissed off players be angry? The Atlanta Hawks management? The NBA? Nike? The World?

IM2, please feel free to weigh in.

 

[Blaster]

The fact is she is one of the most talented female basketball players I have ever seen.

 

[pknopp]

The News Herald........my old hometown paper.

That noted, people like to stir things. She broke all of the old college records so she is going to be news worthy.

The biggest name in gymnastics is Simeone Biles. She is everywhere.

 

[DGS49]

The fact is she is one of the most talented female basketball players I have ever seen.

The is a very close analog to Stef Curry. A great shooter with unprecedented range.

 

[rightwinger]

A rising tide lifts all boats

Whether Clark is the best player in the league or not, she will put fannies in the seats and get the WNBA better ratings

All players will benefit

 

[pknopp]

A rising tide lifts all boats

Whether Clark is the best player in the league or not, she will put fannies in the seats and get the WNBA better ratings

All players will benefit

It's already happened.

WNBA Set to Institute Full Charter Program During 2024 Season - WNBA

 

[Polishprince]

A rising tide lifts all boats

Whether Clark is the best player in the league or not, she will put fannies in the seats and get the WNBA better ratings

All players will benefit

Ms. Clark is attracting eyes to the program on TV, we'll see if the program is good enough to maintain people's interest on a longer term basis.

But that's the first step, getting people's attention.

 

[rightwinger]

Caitlin Clark is not that great a BB player and unless the defenses decide for financial reasons not to cover her very tightly, she will become nothing more than a fair-to-middling player in the WNBA, regardless of how many "white" sisters come out to see her play.

Watching her play, Caitlin Clark still shoots like a girl.
Rather than shoot jump shots from over her head, her long distance shots originate from chest level.

She has incredible range and is a great passer. I don’t see anything special on defense

For now, she is drawing crowds. But will they grow tired of the product that the WNBA shows?

Will women support the WNBA?
Right now, they don’t

 

[pknopp]

Watching her play, Caitlin Clark still shoots like a girl.
Rather than shoot jump shots from over her head, her long distance shots originate from chest level.

She has incredible range and is a great passer. I don’t see anything special on defense

For now, she is drawing crowds. But will they grow tired of the product that the WNBA shows?

Will women support the WNBA?
Right now, they don’t

My daughter went to college at Glenville State University when Kim Caldwell was the coach (just a couple years ago).

My daughter was in the pep band so we would go to the games. I at first never gave the women's games much thought but they became the show.

They won the DII National Championship. We followed Caldwell to Marshall where she set records for the school in wins.

Now she is the coach at Tennesee now. My wife, daughter and I are now big women's basketball fans.

As noted, you have to get people to watch.

 

[MarcATL]

You might find this segment informative OP...



Basically, it's racism, but it will help the league in general.

Which is a good thing for all the players.

Kinda reminds me of the Dave Chappelle joke about the rapist superhero, who saves lives but has to rape to save.

 

[odanny]

Well, if a superstar is a player that makes the league lots of money, like she does, then she deserves to be paid.

No one is tuning in to see Angel Reese, they are tuning in to see Caitlin Clark. It would appear to me that how people behave and act can turn off viewers, and that the league needs people in it that people can identify with and root for.

That appears to be Caitlin Clark. Her game in the Final Four recently against LSU, as well as the Championship game, beat the ratings of some of last years NBA playoff games by a wide margin.

It would also appear to me that the WNBA has been lacking a white superstar, and now Clark has energized the entire league. The goal of the league is generating more viewers and making more money.

 

[marvin martian]

Whether Clark is the best player in the league or not

The numbers don't lie, bigot.

 

[Polishprince]

Watching her play, Caitlin Clark still shoots like a girl.
Rather than shoot jump shots from over her head, her long distance shots originate from chest level.

She has incredible range and is a great passer. I don’t see anything special on defense

For now, she is drawing crowds. But will they grow tired of the product that the WNBA shows?

Will women support the WNBA?
Right now, they don’t

If I were running the WNBA, I'd give the girls uniforms of the same type used in the Legends Football League and start recruiting players out of lingerie catalogues instead of just colleges.

That kind of strategery might attract more male fans.

 

[rightwinger]

The numbers don't lie, bigot.

What numbers?

She hasn’t played an official game yet

 

[marvin martian]

What numbers?

She hasn’t played an official game yet

She's coming into the league as the greatest college player of all time, whether you like it or not.

 

[odanny]

She's coming into the league as the greatest college player of all time, whether you like it or not.

Marv, when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you always do is dig.

 

[rightwinger]

She's coming into the league as the greatest college player of all time, whether you like it or not.

Try to keep up Skippy

My quote was “Whether Clark is the best player in the league or not”

She hasn’t played a game yet. It is too early to proclaim her to be the best player in the league.

 

[MarcATL]

She's coming into the league as the greatest college player of all time, whether you like it or not.

She actually LOST her last game to the greatest college player of all time....bigot.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Female fans will not be put off by Clark's chest push shot and neither should the guys.

She makes it. Only other players stopping her matters on this issue.

 

[Mr. Friscus]

A rising tide lifts all boats

Whether Clark is the best player in the league or not, she will put fannies in the seats and get the WNBA better ratings

All players will benefit

That's not how the black basketball community seems to operate... they're protective of the sport, and view other races (especially whites) who might dominate as either intrusive aliens or proof of some sort of systemic racism in the sport...

And what's incredible as far as the latter to be claimed is that the NBA is like 70+% black players, when black men make up like 6% of the population.

But yet.. RACISM AGAINST "US"

You can't make this stuff up