It’s okay to dislike Caitlin Clark.
Seriously.
Most of the greats have haters. I get it.
She’s ridiculously talented. She talks her ish on the court. And unless you’re Ballhalla, her fans invade your arena and occasionally get louder than yours.
That has to be annoying.
The Really Frustrating Part
And then there’s the really frustrating part:
Every criticism eventually seems to become something she adds to her game.
She can’t go left. Until she does.
No midrange game. Until she develops one.
Can’t finish at the rim. Getting better.
Efficiency? Going up.
Turnovers? Going down.
Defense? Believe it or not, getting better there too.
It must be exhausting coming up with new material.
Don’t worry, though. “She hasn’t won a championship” is still available.
I would recommend using that one while supplies last. 😉
Okay, But What About Off the Court?
Getting proven wrong on the court is understandably frustrating, so maybe you hoped there would at least be some juicy drama off it.
Unfortunately, she’s making that difficult too.
She created the Caitlin Clark Foundation around youth and opportunity, focused on education, nutrition and sports.
Her foundation has donated 22,000 children’s books.
Helped hundreds of students start school with backpacks, books and supplies.
Helped build actual multi use courts where kids can play.
And she has a longstanding relationship with children’s hospitals and has spent time visiting sick kids.
Caitlin Clark Visiting families at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital
Does She Respect the History of the Game?
Fine. But maybe she doesn’t respect the history of the game?
I can understand where that concern comes from.
If you’ve loved the WNBA for decades, watched Black women build this league, or watched someone as great as A’ja Wilson dominate it, seeing a new player immediately labeled “the face of the WNBA” can rub you the wrong way.
Except Caitlin seems to understand that too.
Before she played a single WNBA game, she went on SNL and used one of the biggest platforms in America to thank Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, Dawn Staley and, of course, her childhood hero Maya Moore.
She called them:
“The women that kicked down the door so I could walk inside.”
Caitlin Clark - Saturday Night Live - Apirl, 13th 2024
NBC's official page for Clark's SNL appearance
Then in TIME, when talking about the Black women who came before her, she said:
“This league has kind of been built on them.”
And when talking about the attention and investment coming into women's basketball:
“The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing.”
She somehow got criticized for THAT too.
And when given the opportunity to retreat from those comments?
She didn’t.
She reiterated them.
She talked about growing up idolizing Maya Moore. She talked about understanding what the WNBA was before she arrived. She talked about the incredible Black women who built it and why continuing to uplift them matters.
This isn’t a new talking point for her.
It’s been remarkably consistent.
BUT HER FANS!
Okay.
You got me there.
Hell, I have to deal with some of them too.
Every enormous fanbase develops a loud corner that makes everyone else wonder who gave them Wi-Fi.
But Caitlin has repeatedly rejected people using her name to push racism, misogyny and division.
And no, the person screaming at a player because their 11 leg parlay died does not get to represent Caitlin Clark fandom.
Most of us are here because basketball is fun, greatness is fun and talking a little sports trash is fun.
And Now Comes the Awkward Part...
But I see you.
And I know what is about to make this whole situation particularly uncomfortable as the FIBA World Cup approaches.
Because hating Tom Brady was easy when he was wearing the other jersey.
Now Caitlin Clark is about to wear yours.
Suddenly, her success is your success.
You're going to want those ridiculous passes to find your favorite player.
You're going to want those logo threes to fall.
You're going to see how much defensive attention she commands and what that creates for the other great players around her.
And for a couple of weeks, you might accidentally understand what we've been yelling about.
You might even enjoy it.
Terrifying, I know.
Now Caitlin Clark is about to wear yours.
Don't Miss the Player
Because beneath all the discourse is a pretty simple reality:
We are watching one of the most extraordinary offensive talents women’s basketball has produced.
She respects the history that came before her.
She plays with fire.
She gives credit to the women whose shoulders she stands on.
And she is investing her money, platform and time into making sure another little girl gets the opportunity to fall in love with this game too.
Caitlin Clark holding her Picture book - EXTRAordinary! Photo by: Bri Lewerke
I learned a long time ago that hating the greats when they’re beating your team is easy.
Appreciating them while you still have the opportunity to watch them is better.
Sports careers are short.
Greatness is rare.
You can hate the logo threes.
You can hate the trash talk.
You can hate that her fans took over your arena.
You can absolutely hate the racist minority who attach themselves to her name. We don't want them either.
Hell, you can root against her every time she plays your team.
But if you love women’s basketball, don’t let the discourse make you miss the player.
God bless Caitlin Clark.
And for the next couple weeks...
