A’Ja Wilson
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DEI has ruined these kids. 180 degrees opposite of how we were all raised. But now everything is about race. May take a generation to reverse.
I guess I have a slightly different take. Assuming for a second that Aja's comment is accurate and Clark's popularity is at least _partially_ due to race, is that a terrible thing? Is it any more wrong for white girls to be fans of a superstar player that "looks like them" than it was for black youth to be fans of Tiger Woods for the same reason? If suddenly there are tons of white girls and women who are following the WNBA who didnt follow it before, why would it be wrong for marketers to acknowledge that by inking deals with Clark?
Sometimes people pigeonhole themselves.
Here is a good analogy: In the 60's Shirley Jones (mama Partridge from the TV Show) was a film and theater star. Around the very early 1970's she was offered the part to be mama Patridge. She WAS ADVISED not to do it as if the show were successful, she could kiss her film and stage career goodbye as she would always be known as Mama Partridge. Guess what? The show became a hit and she is forever know as that.
How that plays out here is, A'ja pigeonholed herself when she wrote the book "for little black girls". A'ja is all things black. Caitlin on the other hand brought about something that America needed (including all races and creeds). She brought/brings an excitement with her basketball skills, her background, being supportive of all basketball players (class). When you saw her at away venues while at IOWA, the little girls that showed up were white, black, Asian, Hispanic. A'ja could not pull that off as she was/is one dimensional in who she supports.
Yes Aja will get a shoe deal, but I grant you she will not sell anywhere near what Caitlin will sell. As a matter of fact, I bet Caitlin will sell more shoes than the last 5 shoe deals put together. Caitlin's reach is now worldwide whereas Aja is more than likely just going to be regional (South and metro Vegas).
Most of America is put off by the race remarks. Why would white, Asian, Hispanic Americans support anything Aja puts out?
Caitlin has been nothing but supportive of all players. Maybe Aja could take a lesson in learning to be supportive of all girls/players from peanuts to adults. If only 13% of the population is black, she sure alienated the rest of America with her comments on race and books for "little black girls".
If Aja were a big deal, it would've happened before Clark hit the scene several years ago. Seems now she will just play the race card just like Reese to keep some kind of publicity going.
As far as Caitlin, just keep doing what you're doing, sign those jerseys, make apparencies, keep it classy, mind your manners, speak well....You've got the world by a string.
Here is a good analogy: In the 60's Shirley Jones (mama Partridge from the TV Show) was a film and theater star. Around the very early 1970's she was offered the part to be mama Patridge. She WAS ADVISED not to do it as if the show were successful, she could kiss her film and stage career goodbye as she would always be known as Mama Partridge. Guess what? The show became a hit and she is forever know as that.
How that plays out here is, A'ja pigeonholed herself when she wrote the book "for little black girls". A'ja is all things black. Caitlin on the other hand brought about something that America needed (including all races and creeds). She brought/brings an excitement with her basketball skills, her background, being supportive of all basketball players (class). When you saw her at away venues while at IOWA, the little girls that showed up were white, black, Asian, Hispanic. A'ja could not pull that off as she was/is one dimensional in who she supports.
Yes Aja will get a shoe deal, but I grant you she will not sell anywhere near what Caitlin will sell. As a matter of fact, I bet Caitlin will sell more shoes than the last 5 shoe deals put together. Caitlin's reach is now worldwide whereas Aja is more than likely just going to be regional (South and metro Vegas).
Most of America is put off by the race remarks. Why would white, Asian, Hispanic Americans support anything Aja puts out?
Caitlin has been nothing but supportive of all players. Maybe Aja could take a lesson in learning to be supportive of all girls/players from peanuts to adults. If only 13% of the population is black, she sure alienated the rest of America with her comments on race and books for "little black girls".
If Aja were a big deal, it would've happened before Clark hit the scene several years ago. Seems now she will just play the race card just like Reese to keep some kind of publicity going.
As far as Caitlin, just keep doing what you're doing, sign those jerseys, make apparencies, keep it classy, mind your manners, speak well....You've got the world by a string.
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Uh, yes Caitlin should get most of the attention. Those other teams were loaded. Caitlin was a one woman show. She is a marketing powerhouse. and to your question Aja is she wrong? Well, it's a fact that Aja caters to 13% of the population more than 87% of the rest. Caitlin minds her business to include uplift everyone 100% of the population. She never says anything disparaging about anyone.
I’m not a Clark fan but the WNBA is a joke and Clark gives them the best chance to grow their game. All players will benefit from the attention given to her. Thing is, they’d rather suck than have some white girl be the face of the league.
I still see none of the Wilson defenders on here will address my point about Kelsey Plum even though I’ve mentioned it twice. Please, someone explain to me why the white supremacists who run the WNBA, the marketing departments for these huge apparel companies, and ESPN didn’t jump at the opportunity before to market Kelsey Plum the way they are marketing Caitlin Clark. The bigotry has clearly been alive and well ever since America was founded. So why, why, why would they pass up that opportunity to further put down the black community?
I personally am not a Clark fan. I get tired of the constant flopping and complaining about not being fouled. Her race may play a role in the fact she already has a deal and is getting lots of attention. The biggest reason, though, is her range is beyond that of 99% women ever, and beyond that of many of the men playing basketball. It is entertaining to watch when there is a decent chance a player can make from anywhere once they cross half court.
A wide range of posters have provided a wide range of thoughtful and respectful opinions on this thread - perhaps not what you hoped to incite with the OP. Your follow-on provocation to further pick at the scab reads like someone just itching for an ugly fight. Why?
Kudos to the board for engaging on a touchy subject in a reasonable manner.
It will never be reversed until Jesus returns to reign. Too many people pulling the other way.
If you want to sell some shoes, do it the way Michael Jordan did it.
As someone who has actively watched both college basketball and the pros I can tell you that Kelsey was a pretty big deal entering the league. The media did try to to push her as the next big thing but she went to Washington an area not exactly known for basketball and Pac-12 WBB has rarely ever been onTV without a Pac-12 subscription so the ability to get a national audience was much harder. They WNBA and the media definitely pushed her hard and Plum herself said she felt uncomfortable about it because she thought there were more deserving players who never saw a fraction of the support she received despite being playing against much better players. Plum has said she has turned down more opportunities because she felt she didn't deserve them.
And yes the WNBA and the mainstream media when it comes to the WNBA has a race problem. Prior to A'ja having her signature shoe announced the last week the last 4 players to get one were all white in the past 5 years. In a league that is about 85% white that's a huge coincidence. The last black player gets a shoe was 14 years ago and it was all time great Candace Parker. Meanwhile 2 of the current white players received their shoe before they even left a mark in the pros. The WNBA has been promoting players like Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Caitlin Clark as faces of the league as soon as they declared for the draft.
A'ja Wilson is the currently best player in the world has won 2 championships, 2 MVPs and has one of the best personalities, literally a walking billboard of marketability has to do so much more than her white peers to even get considered for the same opportunities. Do y'all not find that weird, do y'all not think that maybe just maybe A'ja has been dealing with this for 7 years and can speak from personal experience. Even Paige Bueckers in her ESPY speech mentioned the same things about the attention she received after her freshman year from the mainstream media.
Caitlin is a great player and deservedly gets a lot of attention but based on the last 15 years of mainstream marketing of women's basketball it's not the least bit of surprising. If you don't believe her or me then look no further than our own women's basketball team. A whole new starting 5 and a national championship and that barely got any mainstream coverage. Why is that? Perhaps the uncomfortable truths that many have spoke about could have some merit.
Will be interesting to see how magical Clark’s career will be…for she will always have the strongest defensive player on her. Carolina was able to container her, but not stop her.
I am not sure you are meaning to say she made these comments to get a shoe deal, and I’m not sure that is what she was doing.
However, if that was at least part of her intent, that is wrong, not ‘gamesmanship‘. To use divisive racial comments to further one’s own position shouldn’t be acceptable. It’s too important of a topic to have dishonest discourse.
She already signed for the signature shoe deal in February of 2023. She was unable to announce it until last week. I agree I don't think this was gamesmanship.
Interesting, I would like to get a Hindu, Buddhist, Agnostic, Atheist, Muslim perspective on when Jesus will reign again?
Caitlin Clark is a wonderful player who has captured a large portion of America’s attention that cared nothing about WBB. That is a great thing. Lifts all boats. She has grown the game.
The media has ridden her story to sell views and clicks and has made a lot of money off of her AND made her a lot of money. In doing so they have relegated other players and stories to the back waters. In the aftermath of the national championship game you would have thought Clark won the title and was the MVP. There is a component of new and fresh player in this and it would be naive to think it does not have some tinge(or more)of race involved.
Clark will not make the Olympic team or make all WNBA this year. Her game is not good enough…
YET.
At present she is simply a scorer. And not a very efficient one on the WNBA level. She will become efficient but it’s a process. She is a frightful PG at this level, 21 turnovers in 2 exhibitions and 1 regular season game. She must become a better ball handler or move to the 2guard. She doesn’t play WNBA D. That said, the talent is there for greatness
The media has ridden her story to sell views and clicks and has made a lot of money off of her AND made her a lot of money. In doing so they have relegated other players and stories to the back waters. In the aftermath of the national championship game you would have thought Clark won the title and was the MVP. There is a component of new and fresh player in this and it would be naive to think it does not have some tinge(or more)of race involved.
Clark will not make the Olympic team or make all WNBA this year. Her game is not good enough…
YET.
At present she is simply a scorer. And not a very efficient one on the WNBA level. She will become efficient but it’s a process. She is a frightful PG at this level, 21 turnovers in 2 exhibitions and 1 regular season game. She must become a better ball handler or move to the 2guard. She doesn’t play WNBA D. That said, the talent is there for greatness
That should not be an excuse to sit on your hands and do nothing to solve the problems in this lifetime
And how did Michael do it? I am assuming by just playing and keeping his personal opinions to himself.
Yeah, there is a lot of fame to be had and money to be made being a race huckster in America.
Because what’s going on with the race-baiting in America is ugly. And it needs to be called out for what it is. Regardless of how well worded the messages may be, the message itself is not and it’s one that is a key contributor to the disaster we’re seeing America become.
Jordan was heavily criticized by the media for not using his massive platform to make more political statements. His response was “Republicans buy shoes too”.
So yes. That is exactly what he did.
So people want athletes to not be human, just play sports for our pleasure in seeing them accomplish feats that we as mere mortals only dream about. They are supposed to see things that's they think are wrong and not say anything. They shouldn't have an opinion. Michael Jordan did it his way so everyone else supposed to follow his blue print. I thought this was America the land of the free and the home of the brave. Why can't we agree to disagree, have opinion that's different from someone elses, and be civil. It's always been about race and will never change unless we as a country meet in the middle to bring about change. Now let's play some basketball
on the court where there aren't this division of opinion and enjoy these women games if we are fans.word is Aja's first game drew 472,000 viewers....Clark's first game drew 1.6 million
Ding ding ding....we have a winner!!!!! Spot on dude!!!
Just like someone said earlier about Michael Jordan...Michael has/had sense enough to know that he had to cater to 100% of Americans, not just the 13% of black Americans. It's the majority who buys the tickets, jersey's, shoes, etc. There are simply not enough black Americans population wise or wealth wise to support all the athletes in the WNBA, Rap Music, NFL, NCAA....so again kudos to Michael Jordan, someone taught him well. Until Aja and Dawn realize this, they will keep getting their feelings hurt, and keep the race baiting going.
So people want athletes to not be human, just play sports for our pleasure in seeing them accomplish feats that we as mere mortals only dream about. They are supposed to see things that's they think are wrong and not say anything. They shouldn't have an opinion. Michael Jordan did it his way so everyone else supposed to follow his blue print. I thought this was America the land of the free and the home of the brave. Why can't we agree to disagree, have opinion that's different from someone elses, and be civil. It's always been about race and will never change unless we as a country meet in the middle to bring about change. Now let's play some basketball
So people want athletes to not be human, just play sports for our pleasure in seeing them accomplish feats that we as mere mortals only dream about. They are supposed to see things that's they think are wrong and not say anything. They shouldn't have an opinion. Michael Jordan did it his way so everyone else supposed to follow his blue print. I thought this was America the land of the free and the home of the brave. Why can't we agree to disagree, have opinion that's different from someone elses, and be civil. It's always been about race and will never change unless we as a country meet in the middle to bring about change. Now let's play some basketball
K... I will take this on...America is the land of the free and YES you can have an opinion. But remember, decisions you make have consequences. When you speak about race, you will automatically alienate people. If you write books and target a certain audience, you will alienate.So people want athletes to not be human, just play sports for our pleasure in seeing them accomplish feats that we as mere mortals only dream about. They are supposed to see things that's they think are wrong and not say anything. They shouldn't have an opinion. Michael Jordan did it his way so everyone else supposed to follow his blue print. I thought this was America the land of the free and the home of the brave. Why can't we agree to disagree, have opinion that's different from someone elses, and be civil. It's always been about race and will never change unless we as a country meet in the middle to bring about change. Now let's play some basketball
When you talk about change, it's usually the minority wanting the majority to change. Majority rules, that's just way it is. Some aspects of my life, I am in the minority whereas other parts I'm in the top 3-4%. When I personally do business, I take the Michael Jordan/Dolly Parton route (keep my opinions to myself).
When I spend my money, I support causes that represent my values, desires and likes. I will not support Aja Wilson due to her catering to a group that I'm not apart of. Why would I? It's almost like biting the hand that feeds you. The folks Aja caters to needs to be the ones that feeds her.
I agree. Not sure I understand the hate. Women's basketball coaches and players are always talking about wanting to grow the game.... Clark helped grow the game because of her shooting and scoring prowess and now she is capitalizing on it. Yes, she is white and appeals to a wider audience because,, newsflash, only 13% of the population is black. Black folks talk about wanting to "see someone who looks like me" in various job fields. Well, maybe white girls want to see someone who looks like them in basketball too. Doesn't mean they are racist.
I don't think it's right for A'ja to play the race card. After all, she got a full ride to play sports in college in the South. She has a statue honoring her in front of the CLA. She is one of top 20 highest plaid players in the WNBA, and she just got her how shoe line created by Nike. Yeah, she's so oppressed and it's just not fair. What a joke.
Aja diminished Clark's capabilities and made it about race. Clark is a phenomenal player. Scored 18 in first quarter against us, supposedly one of the best college defenses in history. you cannot deny that remarkable performance. TO do so makes the jealous so transparent. now she complains about MVP voting. Never thought she would be a victim- the world could be her oyster if she chose to see it.
That’s it; I’ve always wondered how this is not realized and embraced, it would be so easy. Own worst enemy.
A'ja is anything but a victim. She's a very successful professional that has earned her place in the WNBA. Maybe Clark and some of the other rookies will in time. Being crowned because of what you accomplished in college is not going to sit well with most proven players. To suggest A'ja is jeolous is ridiculous. She has already accomplished something that Clark never will. She won a National Title in college. She's also 2x WNBA champ which I highly doubt Clark will do anytime soon, if ever. I have no ill will toward Clark but she needs to prove she can be a star at the next level before we push her to the front of the line.
The funny thing I notice is that the only people talking about DEI is White people. I am around a lot of Black people and those 3 letters never come up. On boards like this one and in interactions outside of my community suddenly I hear it all the time. A'ja had an issue personal to her. DEI never came up in what she said. However, some put it under that umbrella just because they didn't like what she had to say. Same thing with CRT. Just not a part of my discourse in my community. All of the sudden when I go outside everything is CRT. Seems like a predictable strategy at this point. Black person says something, just give it a three-letter term that is dooming America.
A'ja ended up getting her deal with Nike deal. So, everything should be all good now. Caitlin can play basketball. A'ja can play basketball and we hopefully can stop with the three-letter terms. I get the feeling of no such luck with the latter.
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On your two points......
DEI is talked about in the white community because it's dumbing down folks in certain positions which can create a safety issue... AIRLINES are hiring Pilots based on race and not qualifications. Inspectors for the AIRLINES are hiring based on race, not qualifications. I could go on but you get the point.
DEI will not be talked about in the black community. Why would they? It's the same as asking the White community to talk about White Privilege. Why would I talk about privilege to my neighbor or co workers? I worked for everything I have without any special privilege.
As far as Aja getting a Nike deal, does she deserve it? It's not about being the greatest player, its about marketability. She has really hurt herself lately in that regard. Outside of the 13% she panders to, that's not going to equate to a lot of money compared to the ones like Jordan, Woods, Clark, who pandered to all of America.
Aja's deal with Nike was done two years ago and juist announced earlier this month, thus it was done befoe they even talked to CC. Also Aja's dea is a whole clothing line which Nike stated in their release will be significantly more than just a shoe deal. Obviously this means her brand is extremely high, she is marketable and because she will state the inherent advangtages some athletes are afforded because of certain privileges in this country, it has not hurt her. She just has donw as we all have been taught in this country as african americans. Work twice as hard to get equal treatmnent in many spaces.
How hard to you think Michael worked? Michael did not work hard because he loved basketball and stayed out of situations where he was asked about race, politics and news of the day (political correctness).
He worked smart. Aja could have a shoe deal, clothing deal, socks deal, cereal deal, perfume deal, but its not going to be a huge success if all she caters to is the 13% of black American's. As I said earlier, to make the BIG bucks, you need the other 87% of American's.
I bought Michael Jordan sportswear in the past but had he pandered to the 13% only, I would not have spent my money with his brand. Even Larry Bird pandered to 100% of American's and he sold A LOT of his jersey's to black American's....