Oh boy. Another SC representative having to make a mountain out of a mole hill and speaking outside of the realm of sports. Good grief. Getting more and more tired of my own alma mater.
A’Ja Wilson
- Thread starter BftCocks09
- Start date
I get your point, but it is frustrating to see Caitlin Clark, a player that lost the National Championship twice in a row game get all the adulation while the teams that actually won get virtually ignored. That State Farm commercial showing the Iowa team and associating it with greatness chaps my *** every time. A'ja could have been more tactful in what she was saying, but is she wrong?
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Clark set all time scoring record.
She deserves all the attention.
Others are jealous.
She deserves all the attention.
Others are jealous.
As far as making it about race? Yes, I do think she’s wrong. Not a Clark fan here, but she’s the all-time scoring leader in college, number one pick, and exciting to watch to most average fans during a time when there is a huge push to make women’s basketball more relevant than ever. So yes, it does get annoying that everything is about her, but the fact that she’s white is irrelevant. Kelsey Plum was the all time leading scorer until this year, shes white, and no one made a fuss.
She did not set the scoring record. She set the modern D1 record. There's a woman from SC that still has the all time record. I'm not underplaying the accomplishments of Caitlin Clark, which are many, but the record is not one of them.
Asking a serious question as I was not aware of this, but what’s the difference between the modern record and before? Why the distinction?
Sadly, it's a necessary distinction for those who want to claim Clark is the all-time leading scorer, besting Maravich's previous record. It's a necessary distinction because:
1. Freshman could not play when Maravich was in college, so he only played 83 career games to Clark's 139. If you give Maravich another 56 games, he blows past Clark's point total and leaves her in the dust. As it is, she needed nearly 40 additional games just to set the record (maybe more).
2. There was no 3-point line when Maravich played. Give him a 3-pointer (or take away 1 point from each of Clark's 3-pointers) and, again, he retains the record, and it's not close.
3. There was no shot clock when Maravich played.
All that to say, it's painfully obvious that there's nothing about Clark's record that comes close to Maravich's.
Yes indeed she's wrong; its about entertainment, not race. Clarke is like a female Pete Maravich; exciting to watch;. and not because she's white for criminy sake. People aren't and weren't coming to see the Aja's, and not because they're black. That's dumb, immature, and needs to be let go of. Bring entertainment to the table and people will come.
I hear you. She didn't have to go there, but she did. It is not a requirement that everyone be gracious to Clark. She is the #1 pick, but so was Lebron James. He gets credit too, but also gets picked apart on a daily basis. The fans of Clark are going to have to develop some thicker skin (because I think Clark has it and can take it). Nobody is going to lay down and let her win. Everyone is not going to say nice things. Some people are going to be brutally honest and its not always going to be harmonious.
If that is true. Then the same people that go crazy about Clark's game would go crazy about Milaysia Fulwiley's game. Fulwiley's quicker, has comparable handle, can shoot the deep shot (not as consistent yet). However, it hasn't happened. ....and it probably won't. I don't care how many points Fulwiley scores. Acknowledgment of the existence of race is not always a bad thing. It's like me not acknowledging Tiger Woods effect on golf. What I would say to Wilson is that she should take this as a positive instead of a negative. It brings new fans to your sport. Yes, they can be overbearing sometimes (The Clark fans that want to fire the Fever's coach because they lost their first game. Come on people). However, the bring eyeballs to the sport that weren't there before and will put money in everyone's pocket. Not just Clark's. Also, some need to see the gamesmanship in this. Wilson rattles a few cages with her statements and gets a Nike deal out of it.
Maybe if Wilson could shoot logo 3s she would get it. Steph Curry seems pretty marketable and happy.
Clark off the court seems like a good person. I couldn’t stand the on court whining. But let’s face it, she’s a phenomenal player. People need to get over her race. They came out to see shots by a woman they had never seen. Nuff said
Clark off the court seems like a good person. I couldn’t stand the on court whining. But let’s face it, she’s a phenomenal player. People need to get over her race. They came out to see shots by a woman they had never seen. Nuff said
The above post I was referencing wasn’t talking about a distinction between men’s and women’s basketball. It referenced woman from SC who apparently scored more points in women’s basketball at some point in time. I’d never heard this and that’s what I was asking about.
The point of why I started this thread wasn’t about whether Clark deserves the recognition she’s getting or not. It’s about the fact that another USC representative is making a fool of themselves by bringing up a political idea from thin air and throwing it into sports.
“Acknowledgement of race” is a little light for what I think is going on here. Especially in this emotionally charged age where everyone is so polarized on issues such as these, to make light of the insinuation that racism is playing a card here in her attention is pretty irresponsible in my opinion. I’m in full agreement that people need to get thicker skin, but the fact of the matter is that saying something along those lines is only going to enrage the mob even more. A dangerous precedent to continue to set based on the current trajectory of our country.
Very disappointed in A’ja making racist comments like that. After all of the accolades she has received. Just when you think someone has it all together and can see things without prejudice. Sad.
Fulwiley is a freshman. If Fulwiley does what Clark did, then everybody will go crazy for her as well. Nobody knew anything about Clark after her freshman year either. Trying to compare one of the best women's basketball players of all time to a freshman guard who averaged 11.7 points / 2.9 rebounds / 2.2 assists per game really weakens your argument.
Edit: By the way, Clark averaged 26 points per game her freshman year, to go along with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. You're comparing two players on vastly different levels.
This is like comparing LaNorris Sellers to Caleb Williams.
Exactly. I also recall Fulwiley going viral in her very first college game. But, apparently she would’ve been deemed the greatest college basketball player to ever set foot on the earth if she had done that move and while being white.
Will be difficult for any of Dawn's players to put up numbers like Clark because of minutes per game. Dawn has a roster full of Clarks and she has to keep them happy by sharing the playing time.
To be honest, Nike probably only gave A'Ja a shoe deal to defuse some of the racism talk after Clark's deal. She's been in the WNBA for 6 seasons. She didn't suddenly become more marketable.
My question is why when someone say how they feel people who are not there to see what they are experiencing or going through to make them feel a certain way we just say they are wrong or they are the problem instead of trying to see it from their point view as to why they feel like that isn't there a saying that say until you walk in a man's shoe don't judge him in this case a woman
I don't understand the point of view that someone shouldn't speak their mind on anything they want. Should I be admonished for ever voicing an opinion or observation on a topic beyond the scope of my specific professional expertise?
Incidentally, I think A'ja is particularly well positioned to comment on matters related to promotability in professional sports - I don't think it's "outside the realm of sports," or outside the realm of her broader occupation. But even if it were completely outside the realm of sports, why should A'ja, or anyone, be criticized for sharing an informed opinion?
Separately, I generally agree that the A'ja vs Caitlin promotability dynamic at hand is less about race and more about Caitlin's holistic star power. Many on this thread have posited similar points of view. I also generally believe that society would more quickly achieve post-racial existence by avoiding the interjection of race into current dialectics - but I can only control my own words in that regard. And while I disagree with A'ja's assertions on this matter to a large extent, I appreciate and respect her opinion.
Star power isn't always about championships. After all, Reggie Miller appears in some of those State Farm commercials with Caitlin
Lots of other highly promotable athletes lack the championship pedigree of some of their peers - Charles Barkley, Rickie Fowler, JJ Watt, Shohei Ohtani, etc. They're valuable as promoters for various other reasons.
You are not going to agree with everything a representative of USC says. Unfortunately, Wilson does not see it like you do and you are probably never going to come to a consensus in that respect. I disagree with both of you in the respect that Wilson is disrespecting Caitlin's ability in alluding that race is the "Only" reason that Caitlin is popular. However, I disagree with you that race doesn't play a factor at all. In my opinion, race plays a role along with a gumbo of a lot of other factors (School Choice, Gender Presentation [She presents as a woman], Location where she played, Style of Play, The freedom that she was allowed to play with). If Clarke had gone to Notre Dame or UConn I don't think her star is impactful. Just another elite star putting up numbers at what some see as an elite school. However, going to a state school in the heartland allows her to connect in a way that other great stars weren't. You do have other White superstars in the WNBA. Taurasi is in the conversation of greatest female player of all time. Doesn't connect. Breanna Stewart. Great player. Sabrina Ionescu. Great Player and a better 3 point shooter than Clark at this time IMO). Doesn't connect. So, there are a lot of factors at play. I just don't discount race as being one of them. ...and as a Black person, I have no problem with that. Some Black players are going to make some good money because Clark came along.
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Once again I bring up Kelsey Plum. A white woman at a smaller school (Washington) who broke the women’s college basketball scoring record and held that title for a few years, and yet still nobody outside of the women’s basketball world knew who she was. Almost the same exact situation and yet she didn’t blow up like Clark did. So there is a precedent here that says race is not the factor leading to her stardom. Rather, it points to the overall landscape and visibility of women’s basketball as the primary factor. Clark just happens to be the right player breaking records at the right time when women’s basketball is being promoted more than ever.
Because the people screaming the loudest for unity and peace are the first ones to say baseless and divisive garbage like this. But of course, ask them for some sort of evidence about the insinuated racism here from Wilson and all you ever get is crickets.
A team will win and lose the championship every year. How often does a player set so many records(debatable on some, sure) as Clark? If JuJu Watkins, in 3 years, is pushing up on Clarks numbers, she'll get all kinds of coverage.
First of all, comparing your opinions to her opinions is apples and oranges as far as I’m concerned. Please don’t take offense to this, but no one knows who you or I are and therefore couldn’t care less about our opinions. So sure, you can say whatever baseless and ridiculous opinion you’d like because it’s not going to have near the influence here does. Point being, what she says matters and what we say does not.
That leads me to my second point. Because her opinion matters so much more she certainly should be held to a higher standard of providing sound reasoning or evidence as to why she feels that way. Not just a baseless claim because it’s “her journey” that has led her there. In this political climate to make claims like that “just because she can” is irresponsible.
The record is the record. She broke the all time record. Just like in football they don’t separate eras because of the rule changes and style of play.
I don’t think all of the attention she’s getting is due to race. I think that’s a small percentage. But for the most part she came along at the right time. She started scoring a lot while the women game was getting more attention because of the stars that was on SC and LSU and she knocked off one of the best teams to not win a title. She’s a polarizing figure and that makes money for brands. Aja has been the best player in the league and the most popular player in the league for years now and she’s finally getting her due thanks to Clark and the rest of the women that help pushed the game forward the last season.
WAT??!!
@gamecockcleo’s comment (above) is the quintessential example of an unintelligible run-on sentence ever produced.
She will undoubtedly get “all kinds of coverage” from the liberal Los Angeles press in efforts to counterbalance the success of a corn-fed whiter-than-white female from middle America.
I'll explain it for you in 1 word....jealousy.....jealousy fuels anger.....whether its because Clark is white or got the shoe deal or can hit 30 foot 3's Aja is jealous....something she will never admit tho
The sad part is A’ja is obviously light years better. At least at this point. I can understand why she’s frustrated. She’s the best player in the world but doesn’t get the same publicity. I get the frustration. But to say it’s about race? Come on…….what a sad card to pull.
There are times when some should just STFU and this was Wilson’s time… whether they like it or not Clark is the reason for all the WBB hype this year and in the long run will be responsible for their salary increases. If my honest opinion is, if Clark was black this would have never been said. You know, I know it and everyone else knows this to be true. Just play ball and let the other stuff work its way out.