Being a woman who advocates for other women isn’t easy. Think of it as a long, cold road trip in a Corolla during a snowstorm when a woman driving a bulky SUV zips past you, her backside toasty from heated seats.
It’s tempting, easy even, to curse that other woman as she speeds away on the road to equity—the road paved by you. But that’s not a luxury we have. Because the road to equity is precarious and winding, and we can’t afford any self-inflicted pitstops.
And I think that’s why I’m so mad at the Breanna Stewarts and Diana Taurasis of the world who couldn’t help themselves from taking unsolicited shots at Caitlin Clark over the last several weeks.
Like when Taurasi, during The Bird and Taurasi Show broadcast of the Final Four game between Iowa and UConn, was asked around whom she’d rather build a WNBA team: Paige Bueckers or Clark.
“I’m taking Paige,” Taurasi said. “Next question.”
It wasn’t so much what she said. It was how she said it. It was flippant. Brash. An intentional jab at Clark.
Or like when Breanna Stewart was asked whether Clark needed a championship to be considered one of the greats in women's college basketball history. Not THE greatest. Just one of.
“Yeah,” Stewart said. “She does.”
Stewie, come on.
There’s more (I’m looking at you, Lynette Woodard), but you get the point.
Look, these women are hardcore competitors. They’re some of the best to ever play. And perhaps most importantly, they reached these levels of greatness in embarrassingly bad conditions, both at the collegiate and professional level.
Taurasi and Stewart played before collegiate athletes could monetize their name, image, and likeness and before the women’s tournament had the rights to the “March Madness” moniker. Hell, Woodard played before the NCAA even recognized women’s athletics. So, yeah, I can understand how seeing Clark’s face everywhere, including State Farm and Hy-Vee commercials, sits about as well as hot wings as a bedtime snack.
But here’s where I get stuck: Isn’t this exactly what you played for, Diana? Breanna, wouldn’t you have given anything to have had your performances discussed on every broadcast, whether men’s or women’s? Wouldn’t you have risen to the occasion, Lynette, when ESPN was giving unprecedented attention to the game you love?
Yes. Yes. And yes.
Some of the vitriol might be warranted if Clark was ungracious or disrespectful to the game’s greats or to her teammates or opponents (though I’d argue male athletes do this without criticism, but that’s a discussion for a different day), but that’s never been the case. Her postgame press conferences as a Hawkeye were never anything but gracious, and numerous times during her final season, often on the biggest stages, Clark recognized the greats who paved the way and made her rise to stardom possible.
Put simply: Clark is doing what those who came before her wished they could have done, and she’s doing it right. Like those who came before her, she left the college game in a better state than how she found it. What more could we have asked of her?
Right now, Clark is that woman in the SUV with the heated seats. Is it unfair that we all couldn’t have heated seats? Yes. But wishing for her SUV to slide off the road isn’t going to get you heated seats, nor will it get heated seats for your daughters or theirs.
So take a breath. Wish her well on her journey. And let her pave the way for an even easier road for whoever’s got next.
Well said.
This is excellent. It ought to be possible to appreciate the talents of a Caitlin Clark or Audi Crooks without giving into tribalism or jealousy. Their skill deserves to be celebrated. People who can't do that are depriving themselves of some wonderful athletic performances.