A new crop of viewers of the male species have been watching the WNBA for five minutes now, and they’re already out here pushing toxic narratives about the women in the league.
In case you missed the conversation, because there’s a lot going on in the world competing for your attention, basketball wunderkind Caitlin Clark has not been receiving the coziest welcome into the WNBA. The guard, who became a household name after being crowned the all-time leading scorer in the NCAA’s Division 1, was drafted at number one by the Indiana Fever in the recent WNBA draft—the most-viewed draft class ever.
Since making her official debut, the red carpet that was initially rolled out has been rolled up fast. Her team currently sits at 2-9 (two wins, nine losses, for the non-sports fans), and she’s been seen flying across the floor as folks have been letting her know that the WNBA is vastly different from the NCAA—it’s a lot more physical.
But most notably, during a game against the Chicago Sky (who are currently 3-4), guard Chennedy Carter appears to have purposely shoulder-checked Clark, who went down to the floor. It’s said that Clark had elbowed her before that play, by the way. Carter’s rough move was initially deemed just a foul, but after the game, the league upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 1 violation after a review. Following the game, Carter said she wouldn’t answer any questions about Clark (her what-does-she-bring-to-the-league-anyway message on social media was quite cringe, TBH). As for the Fever star, she basically said that’s just the nature of the game.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Clark said. “It is what it is. It’s a physical game. Go make the free throw and execute on offense, and I feel like that’s kind of what we did.”
She gets it. Unfortunately, there are way too many people who don’t, and they have platforms they’re using to make everyone in the WNBA appear to be Bitter Betties, and it’s disappointing to watch.
Long before this weekend’s unsportsmanlike conduct from Carter, famous men at all levels of sport, from Charles Barkley to the head of Bleacher Sports to Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and many more have used a broad brush to say jealousy is behind the treatment Clark has received from different players.
“You women out there, y’all petty, man,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA recently, before adding, “These girls hatin’ on Caitlin Clark.
“Y’all petty, girls,” he continued. “I expect men to be petty because we’re the most insecure group in the world. Y’all should be thanking that girl for getting y’all a-s private charters, all the money and visibility she brings into the WNBA.”
And this is where I have an issue. The expectations Barkley has of men are vastly different from those he has for women, and that’s similar to many of the other men who are, all of a sudden, WNBA experts now that Clark is in the league. As basketball commentator Monica McNutt reminded the hosts of ESPN’s First Take this morning, women in the WNBA have been physical players since its first games in 1997. She also brought out a video that’s being reshared of recently retired WNBA champ Candace Parker being involved in a brawl during her rookie season in 2008. She shared this as contributor Shannon Sharpe asked her if she thought people would continue to watch this season if Clark continued to be at the receiving end of what he deemed unfair pushes and shoves.
Basketball has always been a physical game, and Clark is no longer sinking threes over fellow college athletes in the NCAA. She’s going up against women who’ve been fighting for their just dues for years, including veterans and champions who were putting the league on the map before she stepped on the court. It’s a given that players will not play with kid gloves and take it easy on her. But the perception is that women are not physical on the court the way men tend to be, and at the end of it all, they’re supposed to be “ladies,” leaving anything outside a jumper and layup pegged as women playing too aggressively and being catty. They’re jealous, don’t you see? So they’re taking cheap shots. They’re mad that she’s the golden girl of the league now, and so they want to take her out! The horror…
Regarding gender and sports, Cheryl Miller, one of the greatest to ever play the game (women or men), might have had the best comment. “Just because we’re women we don’t work or struggle or compete or want to win any less than men,” Miller said to Sports Illustrated in 1985 when discussing times she’d broken the nose of a fellow player and hit another with an elbow to the face while hustling for the ball. “I always feel like a gunfighter and everyone is after me. We can be friends later. On the court I’m going to take you to the hole and stuff your mug. I’m thinking nothing but net at my end and you’ll be lucky to get a shot off me at yours. I’ll be in your mug all night, and if you can be intimidated, I’ll take advantage of that, too.”
So, if you’ve watched women’s basketball for longer than a minute, you would know this isn’t new. Unfortunately, the way it’s presently being discussed is that these women are operating from a place of resentment more than just from a competitive space where they’re looking to see if the new “It” girl, really, indeed, is that girl. If an elbow is thrown, is it really that serious?
This commentary, running to cape for Clark, does a disservice to her. She may not have much muscle on her to bounce back from hard hits very fast, but as you can see for yourself, she’s fine. She can dish it and so she’s taking it, too. She’s not asking people to speak up for her, but the media is forcing it.
If too much focus is put on who was physical with her in every game, she’ll be framed as someone who can’t handle the league’s physicality and is being protected over other players. She will be considered the girl who gets special treatment from the league (like inspiring foul classifications and fining folks after the clock winds down), and who needs that as they’re trying to hold their own in the league?
But most disappointing is watching notable Black men, who know they didn’t give a damn about the WNBA a year ago, go out of their way to say that a league comprising more than 64 percent of Black women is jealous of the young White superstar. The effort to create dissension, to pit folks against one another, to say that it’s really just her that’s bringing attention to the league, and to tell women to stop being mad and instead be glad she’s upgraded their treatment is gross. It’s especially maddening to always feel like Black women are not protected by our own.
I’m not surprised by Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports (he has a personal beef, it seems, with Angel Reese). I am not surprised by Clark’s boyfriend and brother defending her. I expect it from the corn lovers in Iowa. But to hear influential brothas spew this far and wide just makes me sad. Black women haven’t been able to play the game without being picked apart for years, whether there is commentary about being too masculine or some “nappy-headed hos.” So it would be nice to see these same guys outspoken in their defense. Instead, some of these men fall for the jig way too easily and are the first to pick up a microphone and say anything, not thinking about how their generalizations impact Black women.
But alas, this is what comes with desiring more eyes and opportunities for the WNBA in the social media age. While an increase in revenue is always a positive thing—especially when the average player makes around $113,295 while the average NBA player makes millions—faux outrage, caping and ignorance are par for the course as well. I hope the league, filled with so much top-tier talent, continues to flourish and get the attention and respect that it deserves. It should be talked about with the same excitement as the NBA, which, in turn, allows for better pay. But in that effort, I hope Clark and her competition will be able to ball while ignoring the attempts to create drama by people who are more focused on sharing disappointing narratives with the broadest of paintbrushes than on just watching the best basketball players go to work.
