Since Caitlin Clark showed up in the WNBA a year ago, several narratives came with her.
As Clark brought an influx of interest and attention, many people who hadn’t previously paid much attention to the league suddenly positioned themselves as experts. Along with what they thought the WNBA should be doing with Clark, they’ve also helped craft storylines that’ve, for better or worse, surrounded the Indiana Fever star in her two professional seasons so far.
Chief among them is the notion that every game is Caitlin Clark vs. the WNBA and that all of the other players in the league are jealous, petty, and out to get the golden goose. That has led to outsized coverage of moments of physicality and competitiveness that would likely be appreciated and applauded in the men’s game.
Outsiders and newbies aren’t alone in these narratives, as several longtime women’s sports media members and team announcers have chimed in on the topic as well.
USA Today columnist Nancy Armour is tired of hearing about why WNBA players can’t just get along, and she’s weary of seeing old narratives and tropes about women persist in discussions surrounding Clark.
“Why the F are we always pitting women against each other?” Armour asked rhetorically on a recent episode of Good Game with Sarah Spain.
“It’s maddening to me because is she going to like every single player in the league? No. Is every player in the league going to like her? No. Do we care when that is the same case in the NBA or the NFL? No.
“We get a kick out of it. We like when LeBron talks trash or trying to decide if he and Steph are buddies or not. This need to have women be catfighting or this narrative that women are incapable of doing anything but catfighting is so tired. It’s like these are unbelievable athletes, and they got where they are because they’re insanely talented. They’re also competitive as hell. And that’s a good thing. If you are an elite athlete, that’s part of your DNA. And to pretend that that’s not the case, pretend or try and make it into something that it’s not, it’s like, again, why?
“Why, why, why… do we always have to have somebody sniping at each other? Why is not it enough to just compare their games and talk about and make it into something that it’s not?”
Unfortunately for Armour, it seems we are destined to repeat this dance for the foreseeable future.
The USA Today columnist also recently penned an article suggesting that Clark should select Angel Reese for her WNBA All-Star team to quiet critics and help mitigate these narratives. Alas, Clark didn’t do that. Not that it would have solved everything, but there is a growing sense that the Fever star could do more to push back on harmful storylines surrounding her and her opponents. That would certainly be a good first step, if and when she chooses to do so. But there’s also a lot more work to be done by those who care about the league.