Caitlin Clark responds to racial take on her success

For decades, WNBA players have complained — and rightfully so — about the lack of media exposure they get. Unlike their NBA counterparts, they often have to grind and play around the world to make a decent living.

It wasn’t until this season that the league agreed to pay for charter flights throughout the playoffs and for back-to-back games, and there’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel for a tournament that has survived, not thrived.

Notably, a lot of that might have to do with Caitlin Clark. The Indiana Fever rookie was the most talked-about athlete in college basketball — both men’s and women’s — last season, and she’s just getting started.

Caitlin Clark Responds To Claims Of Being White And Her Popularity

Ironically, instead of trying to make the most of this wave of money and media interest, some players have gone at the Iowa product, stating that she’s only getting this exposure because she’s white:

“I think it’s a huge thing,” Las Vegas Aces star A’Ja Wilson said. “I think a lot of people may say it’s not about black and white, but to me, it is. It really is because you can be top notch at what you are as a black woman, but yet maybe that’s something that people don’t want to see. They don’t see it as marketable, so it doesn’t matter how hard I work. It doesn’t matter what we all do as black women, we’re still going to be swept underneath the rug. That’s why it boils my blood when people say it’s not about race because it is.”

With that in mind, Clark responded to those claims, talking about how the newly-found opportunities won’t only benefit her but every other female basketball player in the league:

“I think there’s opportunities for every single player in women’s basketball. I think the more opportunities we can give across the board, that’s what’s going to elevate women’s basketball,” Clark said. “It doesn’t need to be one or two players, and I think that even goes back to college. I think we can — the parity in women’s basketball is what’s making more people want to come and watch it. I think the more you spread the love, show people, show their talents, show their teams, that’s just going to continue to elevate it. So, I think that’s the biggest thing.”

At the end of the day, for whatever reason, people want to watch a rising superstar like Clark, and that should be the only thing that matters. If anything, that kind of discourse will only drive the viewership away.