Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson made a shocking claim Monday. Wilson claims that the main reason Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark has become popular is because of her race.
‘I think it’s a huge thing. I think a lot of people may say it’s not about Black and white, but to me, it is,’ she said. ‘It really is because you can be top notch at what you are as a Black woman, but yet maybe that’s something that people don’t want to see.
Wilson may not be wrong. The WNBA seems to have done more to promote Clark than any other player in their history and that has rubbed players and coaches alike the wrong way.
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve even tweeted about her disappointment in the league just promoting Clark and not the rest of the league as well.
Wilson seems to think the league is promoting Clark more because she, as a white woman, is more profitable than a Black female player.
‘They don’t see it as marketable, so it doesn’t matter how hard I work. It doesn’t matter what we all do as Black women, we’re still going to be swept underneath the rug. That’s why it boils my blood when people say it’s not about race because it is.”
Even before she entered the league, Clark was seen on Saturday Night Live after she lost the national championship game to the South Carolina Gamecocks and given a huge shoe contract from Nike. Many were outraged about because no other female basketball star, Black or white, was given the same deal. The backlash caused Nike to give Wilson her own shoe deal.
The WNBA is certainly not helping with the misconception that they are more willing to help promote Clark more than any other past or present WNBA players, especially if they are Black.
And while Caitlin Clark may be good for the league, overall, the league’s favoritism toward her is not doing her any favors.
