NYT: Hooray! WNBA and media bully Caitlin Clark into denouncing critics of the racist and heterophobic violence perpetrated against her by black lesbians and that's good for reasons of Who-Whom

WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark has been exposed to vicious racist and heterophobic violence from black lesbians angered by a straight white woman horning in on their turf. Women’s basketball administrators even shot themselves in the foot by leaving her, their biggest star, off the U.S. Olympic basketball team.

In the New York Times’ sports section The Athletic, a columnist explains the the real issue is that Bad People are objecting to the abuse Clark has endured.

Caitlin Clark eventually got it right, but she needs to consider the agenda around her name

By Jim Trotter

Jun 14, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS — Athletes often speak in generalities as a defense mechanism. Rather than go in-depth on a potentially controversial topic, or even address the issue at all, they provide non-answers, using cliches and pre-programmed talking points to stay at a safe distance.

A part of me would like to believe that that’s what Caitlin Clark did Thursday morning when I asked if she was bothered by fans using her name as a weapon in the culture wars dividing the country. The Indiana Fever’s star guard didn’t close the door on the subject; she refused to even open it.

“No,” she declared. “I don’t see it. I don’t see it. That’s not where my focus is. My focus is here and on basketball. That’s where it needs to be, that’s where it has been, and I’m just trying to get better on a daily basis.”

Clark backtracked five hours later, telling reporters that “people should not be using my name to push those agendas,” but the damage had already been done. Connecticut Sun wing DiJonai Carrington was among those who spoke out against her initial comments, saying on X: “Dawg, how one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts. We all see the sh*t. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.” …

But you don’t get to hide behind basketball when you’ve been anointed the transcendent, rising tide who will lift the WNBA to greater prosperity. And you definitely don’t get to do so when people are using your name as a means of pushing racism, misogyny, homophobia and other societal ills. To whom much is given, much is required, indeed.

The subject is sure to raise its head again Sunday when the Chicago Sky come to town. Chicago players Chennedy Carter and Angel Reese have been targets of Clark supporters following separate incidents with Clark. Sky players said Carter and other team members were harassed at a team hotel days after leveling Clark with a dirty hip-check on June 1. And Reese has drawn ire from some Clark fans for mocking Clark during LSU’s national championship win two seasons ago. …

Clark did not make the comments, but I was curious about her feelings about people using her name as a divisive tool. Her initial response Thursday morning: “It’s not something I can control, so I don’t put too much thought and time into thinking about things like that. And, to be honest, I don’t see a lot of it. Like I’ve said, basketball is my job. Everything on the outside, I can’t control that so I’m not going to spend time thinking about that. People can talk about what they want to talk about, create conversations about whatever it is, but I think for myself, I’m just here to play basketball. I’m just here to have fun. I’m trying to help our team win. … I don’t pay much mind to all of that, to be honest.”

… Still, her comments were troubling because they lacked awareness and empathy toward Black peers who do not have the privilege of distancing themselves from the isms they are regularly confronted with.

Carrington likened her silence to luxury. I see it as complicity.

… But the initial unwillingness to stand against hate and harassment was always going to be problematic in a league that is predominately Black, and has a sizable LGBTQ+ population. …

No one is asking Clark to be a social activist or to be a prominent face in the fight for respect, but it is important for her to at least denounce those who might use her name to espouse hate and division.

Sheer Stalin-style who-whom thinking about race.