Caitlin Clark burst onto the national scene over the last two years thanks to her record-setting college career, her All-Star rookie season and the constant conversation about why she is popular.
ESPN broadcaster Monica McNutt suggested that Clark being from the Midwest helped her connect with young girls as she spoke to BBC about how women’s sports can be viable in the long term.
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ESPN analyst Monica McNutt on the red carpet before the All-Star Celebrity Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Feb. 16, 2024. (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)
“Two things – I think it has to show up in our storytelling and it has to be encouraged by our families,” McNutt said. “And so covering the WNBA this past season, Caitlin Clark’s rookie year, for all of the conversation that surrounded her, some which was fair and some which wasn’t, the one thing that I cannot deny is the amount of little girls that were showing up to follow her. Same thing for Angel Reese, when I had a chance to cover their games.
“But I think Caitlin represented, and again, some of this to me probably is not fair to her, because it was not anything that she said or was truly based on her personality, but she was a White girl from the middle of America. And so she represented a whole lot to a lot of people, whether that is truly what she prescribed to or not.
CAITLIN CLARK’S WNBA IMPACT LEAVES LEGEND ‘GRATEFUL’
Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Indiana Fever, poses for a photo during her introductory press conference on April 17, 2024 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
“We can all say she is a dynamic basketball player and a force both on the court and the marketing sense. But I do think, same thing with folks that may have fallen in love with Angel Reese, she may or may not have agreed with everything they had to say, either. We attach our fandom to these icons for all types of reasons, and sometimes they may not be based in truth.”
The race conversation around Clark has not stopped – it only fell to a whisper during the offseason. With the start of the WNBA season just around the corner, it has begun to pick back up again as the Indiana Fever are set to have 41 nationally televised games.
Basketball legend Cheryl Miller said she was over that talk.
“I’m gonna be honest, because it needs to be said,” she said on “All the Smoke” podcast last month. “I can relate to that young lady, and I felt for her. I know what it’s like to be hated. I know what it’s like to be a Black woman and to be hated because of my color. I can’t imagine this young lady, I don’t want to use hate, but despised.
Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Indiana Fever, looks on during the first quarter against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on June 27, 2024 in Seattle. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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“She brought some on herself, a little bit, because she’s cocky for a good reason. And I love that about her. But to watch the dynamics, and the media, they had their narrative. And I was pleased and proud to see the narrative wasn’t the truth. And Angel (Reese) and her got along so well.”
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