When Caitlin Clark is at the forefront of the conversation, Stephen A. Smith will wade into the discourse.
Last week, Time Magazine named the Indiana Fever guard its Athlete of the Year. In the subsequent article, Clark not only advocated for her fellow WNBA players against Christine Brennan but also acknowledged her own white privilege—something that didn’t sit well with conservative media members like Megyn Kelly.
Even after Kelly’s criticism, Clark doubled down on her praise of Black WNBA legends. And while her comments on white privilege sparked controversy on one side of the political spectrum, she found support from figures like Dave Portnoy and Ryan Clark, even though Sheryl Swoopes and the Washington Mystics’ owner did not.
After a full media circle — or circus, if you will — Smith is placing his stamp of approval on Clark yet again.
“You see why I have no problem with her being Time’s Athlete of the Year?” asked Smith. “You see why I said she should’ve been on Team USA? You see why I had to go off on the likes of Sheryl Swoopes — and others — who were clearly distant and dismissive of her, no matter how much they tried to deny it. There was resentment toward her, and here’s why I said it was stupid: because when she came into the WNBA for 22-plus years, they had been flying commercial; they were begging for chartered flights. She arrives there and two weeks later, they got chartered flights.
“She automatically and instantaneously improved the conditions. Attendance is still lagging; WNBA is still losing money compared to what you would hope it would earn. But, clearly, things are on an upward trending trajectory — it’s improving, and she has everything to do with it. Attendance for Indiana Fever games. Are you kidding me? WNBA Draft, games on ABC, ESPN, television ratings — she’s directly responsible.
“And people are resenting her for it like she was the cause of the problems they had for the lack of recognition. No, she just happened to be born white. That’s it. Caitlin Clark hasn’t spoken against anybody. She hasn’t assisted in denying anybody else the privileges they deserve. If anything, she’s tried to provide assistance. ‘A rising tide lifts all boats,’ she’s trying to be a rising tide that lifts the boats. And there were sisters resentful against her. Be resentful against the system. Be resentful of the folks — primarily the white folks — who basically disenfranchised y’all all these years before she came along, who denied you the acclaim and the allure and the profits you richly deserved.”
Smith emphasized that those frustration shouldn’t be taken out on Clark.
“Not her. She’s the one that assists you,” he added. “When Black folks was marching during the Civil Rights era and fighting every battle they possibly could, they weren’t dismissive, nor did they assist in denigrating the white people who marched with them. They saved the venom for those who wouldn’t. You don’t run away from people who support you; you run to them, especially when they’re in a better position than you to help you.
“But, it still seems like people are slow-rolling their way to a form of progressive thinking that enables them to appreciate the Caitlin Clarks of the world instead of resenting her. Which means, as always, no matter how far we’ve come, we still have a ways to go.”
Essentially, Smith’s message can be boiled down to this from his three-plus minute rant: Clark’s impact is undeniable, and it’s time to stop resenting those who are pushing the game forward.
[The Stephen A. Smith Show]