Caitlin Clark received several honors after his first season at the WNBA. In addition to being appointed rookie of the year of the League, Clark was also selected as the “Athlete of the Year” of 2024.
While Clark produced a strong statistics line during his time in Iowa and WNBA level, there has been a lot of debate about whether he also had an inherent privilege that helped her get to stardom. During his interview with Time magazine, Clark admitted to having had a particular integrated benefit.
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Caitlin Clark of the WNBA team, on the right, hugs A’JA Wilson from the US team. After the 2024 WNBA star game in Footprint Center in Phoenix on July 20, 2024. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
“I want to say that I have earned everything, but as a white person, there are privileges. Many of those players in the league that have really been good have been black players. This league has been built in them. The more we can appreciate that, Highlight that … I think it’s very important.
“The more we can raise black women, that will be something beautiful.”
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Those comments received mixed reactions within the world of basketball. Last May, the twice champion of the WNBA A’JA Wilson was asked if the breed and the double standard in sports played a role in Clark’s meteoric ascent.
“I think it’s something huge. I think many people can say that it’s not about black and white, but for me, it is,” said Las Vegas Aces star to The Associated Press at that time and shortly before signing a Specialization The support deals with Nike for its first signature shoe. “It really is because you can be first category in what you are as a black woman, but maybe that’s something that people don’t want to see.
“They do not see it as commercializable, so it doesn’t matter how much work. It doesn’t matter what we all do as black women, we will still sweep under the carpet. That is why my blood boils when people say it’s not about race , because it is “.
Caitlin Clark, by Indiana Fever, speaks with the media during an introductory press conference in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on April 17, 2024. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE through Getty Images)
Wilson once again addressed the subject during a recent interview with Time magazine.
“It’s powerful to me,” said Wilson, who appeared on the topic of Time “Women of the Year.” The star of American gymnastics Jordan Chiles also appeared on the subject.
“As a black woman in the WNBA, we have our difficulties to show who we are really. Many agendas are pushed into many different platforms that can follow us. You work very hard, but you still have to work 10 times more difficult to be seen. It is real.
A’ja Wilson, from Las Aces de Las Vegas, shoots a free kick during the game against Indiana fever in Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on June 24, 2023. (David Becker/NBAE through Getty Images)
Wilson talked about the rejection that Clark received for his comments, but the Aces Center of Las Vegas also recognized the barriers he has faced throughout his outstanding race.
“I know [Clark] I have a lot of reaction to that, because we obviously live in a world where they don’t want that, and it’s exhausting. But imagine dealing with that and then having to leave and play every night, have to constantly worry, how are they about to degrade my curriculum now? What else do I have to do to show how Elite and how serious my work took? But I also do it with love, passion and fun. Many people don’t want to see me at the top, and that’s fine, but I’m going to be there, because I worked my butt to get there, “he continued.
Wilson said he intends to continue talking and using his own privilege in several ways.
“I have a privilege in many different ways,” he said. “I can be in spaces where many other black women, white women, as you want to see it, are not, but that’s where I will try to use my privilege of being a professional athlete to help others, because because that’s That gives me why.
