Will the real Caitlin Clark fans please stand up?
Do you like her game, or did you just like the idea of weaponizing her whiteness?
Caitlin Clark didn’t ask for any of this. But when the field you work in is dominated by Black women, learning how to deal with unfair burdens is listed at the top of the job description.
Somewhere between Clark’s back-to-back Cinderella runs during the last two NCAA Tournaments — that both set viewership records and ended in championship game losses to “Black” teams — and her rookie season in the WNBA, a huge part of her “fanbase” got loud and disrespectful. From Sheryl Swoopes to Angel Reese, anybody who wasn’t kissing Clark’s ass became a target.
Last week, those “fans” had their hearts broken when they found out their hero wasn’t a bigot, but rather an advocate for Black women who fully understands her privilege.
“I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” she told TIME Magazine. “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 invest 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.”
Butthurt doesn’t even begin to describe how some of her “fans” were feeling.
“Look at this. She’s on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention,” Former FOX News personality Megyn Kelly posted on social media about Clark. “The self-flagellation. The ‘oh pls pay attention to the black players who are REALY the ones you want to celebrate.’ Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad.”
A few hours after Kelly made her post, Clark responded to it when she was asked by NBC’s Maria Taylor — a Black woman — during an interview.
“I know there have been so many amazing Black women that have been in this league and continuing to uplift them is very important, and that’s something I’m very aware of,” she declared.
Despite all the drama that’s been a part of the Caitlin Clark experience over the last few years, at the center of it has been a brilliant basketball player who has the opportunity to be a transformational figure for her sport. It’s why TIME Magazine named her “2024 Athlete of the Year.” However, that award was bestowed upon her during a moment when Trump was named TIME’s “Person of the Year” for the second time (2016).
The correlation between many of Clark’s “fans” and Trump supporters is as clear as night and day. There’s no need to expound on it because it’s been staring us in the face for years. And trying to explain that to anyone who denies it is just a waste of time and energy at this point.
And I take pride in not wasting either of those things.
But, back to Clark.
Recently she was named to another prestigious list. According to Sportico, Clark is the tenth highest-paid female athlete of 2024 and the only women’s basketball player to have that distinction as her salary and endorsements totaled a little over $11 million. Coincidentally enough, the report was published a month after Election Day.
Why does that matter?
Because the world had just watched arguably one of the most qualified people to ever run for President lose an election all because she’s a Black woman. And in a year that was dominated by Clark’s popularity when it comes to sports, particularly women’s sports, it was Coco Gauff who was number one on that highest-paid list ($30.4 million), as her celebrity was nowhere near Clark’s. Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Serena Williams are the only three female athletes to ever hit the $30 million annual income mark in sports history, according to Joe Pompliano.
Three Black women have succeeded in a sport that’s been historically white and when the newest member was added to that small group, almost every Black woman in America was still grappling with the reminder that the system was built to limit their greatness. And the very moment Caitlin Clark promoted Black women, a large part of her “fanbase” washed their hands of her.
This is what happens when you attempt to support Black women in America.
For as much as some people try to view sports through the lens of entertainment/an escape from reality, more often than not, sports is just a microcosm of society. Who is celebrated and who isn’t. Who gets promoted and who doesn’t. Who’s allowed to be fiery and competitive, and who gets labeled as classless or a thug.
None of this is Caitlin Clark’s fault. But, it is the reality of the world and league that she lives and plays basketball in. People can be fickle, especially when it comes to who they root for. It’s why I put quotation marks around the term “fan” every time I used it in this column. I wanted you to understand that the ones I was talking about were never actually fans of Caitlin Clark. They’re just a bunch of aimless followers looking for someone to be their next archetype of hate.