(Todd A. Smith)
WNBA phenom Caitlin Clarke of the Indiana Fever has revolutionized women’s basketball.
Her fans have also divided America along racial lines, thanks to her contentious rivalry with Chicago Sky star forward Angel Reese, which dates to their college days at Iowa and LSU, respectively.
However, some of Clark’s fans are taking her stardom ridiculously too far, as some on social media have labeled her the Jackie Robinson of the WNBA.
Asinine takes like that are the reason why true American history should be taught in schools everywhere, even if some conservatives consider the truth “woke.”
Clark is a transcendent player who will turn the WNBA into an unstoppable force.
And she is White, which is important to some American sports fans and advertisers.
People must remember that many NBA fans of the late 1970s disliked the league because they openly said there were too many Black players.
But Robinson broke the racial barrier in Major League Baseball when he took the diamond for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
When Robinson destroyed the color barrier, he did so at a time when Black Americans could not vote in many places.
They could not live where their money could afford.
They could not go to whatever school they wanted because of Jim Crow laws.
They rode on the back of buses.
Many even lost their lives when they attempted to buck America’s racial caste system.
Robinson even received countless death threats, racial harassment and assault from White players just for playing a game.
As added pressure, Robinson had to perform well and turn the other cheek when harassed, or there would have been no second (Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians) Black player in Major League Baseball.
America was so divided in the 1940s that Brooklyn Dodgers’ General Manager, Branch Rickey, hand-selected Robinson because of his background.
The first Black Major League Baseball player could not just be any old Tom, Dick or Harry.
The pioneer had to be someone who was a credit to his race, as people would say back in those days.
Robinson attended UCLA, an integrated college.
He served in the United States military.
The former Negro Leagues baseball star played four college varsity sports for the UCLA Bruins.
Robinson was articulate.
He was good-looking.
And he had a steady girlfriend named Rachel, whom the Dodgers encouraged him to marry.
Therefore, he was a family man before being thrust into the spotlight of America’s racial war.
The Negro Leagues had better players than Robinson like pitcher Satchel Paige and slugger Josh Gibson.
But Robinson had the total package for the public relations battle the Dodgers and Major League baseball would soon find themselves in.
With all that pressure, Robinson performed marvelously on the field.
He also kept his well-known temper under control during his rookie year so that he could prove that Black players were not hot-heads.
In the meantime, he became Rookie of the Year in 1947.
He won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1955.
And he became the first Black player elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1962.
Clark is a great player.
If she continues the current path, she will win MVPs.
She will win WNBA championships.
And she will get elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in about 20 years.
But she is not enduring racism.
Clark never experienced segregation and Jim Crow like Robinson did.
The Fever guard is not getting racially harassed or assaulted by Black players.
And most importantly, she did not break a racial barrier in the WNBA.
White people have never experienced oppression, racism or discrimination in America.
They have never been excluded from participating in anything in America.
The greatest WNBA player of all time is arguably Diana Taurasi, who is White.
The WNBA has countless White stars like Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Plum and rookie Paige Bueckers.
When the WNBA launched in 1997, one of the stars it widely promoted was Rebecca Lobo of the New York Liberty, who is White.
Before that, Lobo was the biggest women’s college basketball star in the country with UConn, a school that has constantly put White stars in the WNBA like Sue Bird and Katie Lou Samuelson.
Yes, Clark has been defended physically by opponents.
But that is just competitive basketball.
It is as if Clark fans think her opponents should just let her win.
Clark is a wizard on the basketball court in the mold of Steph Curry.
To quote sports commentator Stephen A. Smith, she is box office.
And she will almost single-handedly raise the value of the WNBA and put more money in the pockets of her peers.
But that does not make her Robinson.
It makes her Larry Bird or even Julius “Dr. J.” Erving.
In 1979, Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson saved the NBA.
They made NBA basketball “fantastic,” to quote a 1980s promotional campaign.
Their popularity led to the league becoming big-time.
When they entered the league, the NBA Finals were on tape delay.
The Reese-Clark rivalry is the modern-day Magic-Bird rivalry.
Erving is another iconic figure that Clark reminds me of.
Dr. J was the American Basketball Association (ABA).
The one-time NBA rival league belonged to stars like Erving, David Thompson and George “The Iceman” Gervin.
When Erving came to a town, he sold out the arena.
Those who watched the ABA on television often did so to watch the doctor operate.
His style of play changed the way men played the game.
The game went from below the rim to above the rim.
Erving played with a streetwise flair that pro basketball had not really seen.
His pregame and postgame outfits were runway-ready, much like Clark’s wardrobe.
Erving (when he joined the Philadelphia 76ers), Bird and Johnson contributed significantly to the NBA’s bottom line.
But they did not make the social impact of a Bill Russell, Sam Jones or K.C. Jones.
Therefore, they should never be placed in the same sentence as those racial pioneers.
Likewise, Clark should never be mentioned in the same breath as Robinson.
It is ignorant, disrespectful and downright stupid.
And it does Clark no favors.
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