Caitlin Clark owes some of her “worth” as a marketable WNBA player to her race and šāÆšuality, according to former ESPN host Jemele Hill.
aĀ Los Angeles TimesĀ report suggested.
The Indiana Fever player took the country by storm the past year after setting all-time records for scoring during her senior season of college basketball and becoming the number one pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.
Clarkās successĀ has since garnered massive media attention, with thousands attending her games and millions watching from home. She also signed a lucrative $28 million Nike sponsorship deal shortly after graduation.
Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever walks across the court in the first quarter against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 16, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana.Ā (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
However, the LA Times wrote Clark’s success “draws questions of race and equity” in a league comprised 70% of Black players and nearly a third comprised of LGBTQ players.
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“We would all be very naive if we didnāt say race and her šāÆšuality played a role in her popularity,” the Atlantic writer Jemele Hill told theĀ LA Times. “While so many people are happy for Caitlinās success ā including the players; this has had such an enormous impact on the game ā there is a part of it that is a little problematic because of what it says about the worth and the marketability of the players who are already there.”
Hill specifically called out brands like Nike for playing a part in ignoring more diverse players, arguing that “Black women are often erased from the picture.”
Clark’s success is forcing discussions on race in the WNBA, a Los Angeles Times report read.Ā (Elsa/Getty Images)
“Thereās plenty of room to highlight and celebrateĀ Caitlin Clarkās popularityĀ while also discussing ways in which to not erase Black women from a league that they have built and continue to build,” Hill said.
Nicole Melton, co-director of the Laboratory for Inclusion and Diversity in Sport at the University of Massachusetts, also described Clarkās popularity as pushing a “comfortable” image.
“Cailtin fits a very comfortable narrative for a lot of people in the United States,” Melton said. “She comes from the heartland. Sheās an amazing talent. Sheās also a white, straight woman, right? Thereās not a lot of things that would make people feel uncomfortable with that person being successful.”
The LA Times article followed similar comments from Las Vegas Aces center Aāja Wilson earlier this month when sheĀ suggested Clarkās raceĀ is a factor in her popularity.
WNBA player Aja Wilson claimed Clark’s race was a “huge thing” in how popular she became.Ā (Getty Images)
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“I think itās a huge thing. I think a lot of people may say itās not about Black and White, but to me, it is,” Wilson said. “It really is because you can be top-notch at what you are as a Black woman, but yet maybe thatās something that people donāt want to see.”
Wilson added, “They donāt see it as marketable, so it doesnāt matter how hard I work. It doesnāt matter what we all do as Black women, weāre still going to be swept underneath the rug. Thatās why it boils my blood when people say itās not about race because it is.”