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Writer's pictureThe Elephant

PERSPECTIVE: Caitlin Clark and the WNBA: A Tale of Jealousy, Envy, and Bizarre Basketball Politics

As an enthusiastic supporter of American sports, I recently found myself watching my first WNBA game on television, thanks to the dazzling Caitlin Clark. Like many others, I was captivated by her college career and wanted to see her prowess on the professional stage. What I witnessed, however, was not a classic game of basketball but a spectacle of envy and absurdity that could only be described as a parody of the sport.


Caitlin Clark, the new sensation in the WNBA, has drawn comparisons to legends like Tiger Woods and Jackie Robinson. While the analogy to Tiger Woods and his transformative impact on golf is intriguing, I believe the comparison to Jackie Robinson, who broke racial barriers in professional baseball, is even more apt. Jackie faced relentless prejudice, and it seems Caitlin is destined to endure a similar fate in the WNBA, albeit for a dizzying array of reasons.


First, let's address the elephant in the room: Caitlin Clark is white. While she's not the first white player in the league, she is a minority in more ways than one. Her racial background, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. Caitlin is also not a lesbian, a detail that apparently adds to the bewildering animosity she faces. She's pretty, a quality that inexplicably seems to incite further ire among her peers. And lastly, she is extraordinarily successful, raking in more money from shoe deals and marketing than most players could ever dream of. This success has only intensified the jealousy and resentment directed at her.


During the game against the Chicago Sky, it was painfully evident that the other players were more focused on undermining Caitlin than actually playing basketball. The lengths to which they went to impede her—short of physical harm—were nothing short of comical. It was as if the game had turned into a bizarre theatre of envy, with each player auditioning for the role of the most spiteful antagonist.


Post-game, sports commentators couldn't stop gushing about the "Caitlin Clark phenomenon," likening her to Tiger Woods for her potential to elevate the WNBA's viewership and commercial success. But let's be real: Caitlin's situation is more akin to Jackie Robinson's. Jackie faced racial hatred, but Caitlin contends with a quadruple whammy—race, sexual orientation, beauty, and success. The green-eyed monster of envy has reared its head so high that some WNBA players seem willing to sabotage their own financial prospects just to see Caitlin falter.


It's a tragicomic scene, really. Imagine players cutting their own paychecks in half out of sheer spite, hoping for Caitlin's career to end prematurely. The whole affair is reminiscent of a Shakespearean drama, where envy and ambition lead to self-destruction. If the WNBA wants to thrive and grow, it must address this ludicrous display of internal sabotage.


In the end, Caitlin Clark just wants to play basketball and have fun. But amidst this circus of jealousy and absurdity, one wonders if the WNBA can ever rise above its petty squabbles to truly appreciate and support its brightest stars. Until then, the league remains a parody of itself, a comedy of errors where talent and potential are overshadowed by the lunacy of discriminations and envy.

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