Indiana Fever’s star, Caitlin Clark, said she has “privilege” and that he needs to recognize the black players of the WNBA who helped shape the league in what it is today.
Clark made the initial comments in his interview in December with Time magazine and refreshed those comments in his interview with Comedian David Letterman. The interview was filmed in December, at the same time that the magazine appointed its athlete of the year, and was released earlier this week.
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Archive – The Indiana Caitlin Clark fever guard (22) plays against the Dallas Wings in the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, on September 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, Archive)
“I definitely have privileges,” he said in “My next guest does not need Netflix. “I am obviously white, but I think … I am someone who grew a great admirer of this league. I grew up seeing this league, going to the games, supporting this league. So, I know where this league comes from.
“Many black women who grew up making this league what it is. That is the species of the shoulders we are in. So, I think that was something that I am very aware of and something for which I am very grateful. And they definitely deserve all the credit and the more we can give them credit, the better. I am very aware of that and I know it and I think it is responsibility to recognize that.”
Clark answered Letterman’s question about whether he felt he was being attacked because she is white.
“I don’t think he was attacked,” Clark said.
The rookie of the WNBA year talked about having a “privilege” in his interview with El Tiempo months after several of his league colleagues expressed his belief that the race played a factor in its popularity.
Caitlin Clark, #22 of Indiana Fever, speaks with Aliyah Boston, #7, against the sky of Chicago during the fourth quarter of the game in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 1, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Andy Lyons/Getty images)
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“I want to say that I have earned everything, but as a white person, there are privileges,” Clark told Time. “Many of those players in the league who have really been good have been black players. This league has been based on them.
“The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that and then continue making brands and companies invest in those players who have made this league incredible, I think it is very important. I have to keep trying to change that. The more we can raise black women, that will be somewhat beautiful.”
Clark’s popularity has already become a problem that enters the 2025 season, since the fever was put in 41 televised games nationwide.
Indiana’s fever guard, Caitlin Clark (22), reacts to a call during a game between Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky on Saturday, June 1, 2024 in Grainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (INDESTAR-USA Today Sports)
The four-time All-Star Naphesa Collier said last month that it was “a little crazy” that the fever had more television time than the New York Liberty defender.
“Obviously, people want to see Caitlin play, and you have to put people on television that people want to see. But, at the same time, there are stars throughout the league, and you also want good basketball,” Collier said in ESPN. “Obviously, Indiana … it will be a great team, but not to have more defenders on television, I think it’s a little crazy.”
