Caitlin Clark, the WNBA's rising star, addresses recent criticism while reflecting on her groundbreaking rookie year.
Caitlin Clark has become one of the most polarizing figures in sports over the last year. Her popularity soared nearly two years ago when she faced off against Angel Reese in the national championship, catapulting her into the public eye. Clark shattered numerous records during her senior year, including becoming the NCAA's all-time leading scorer, which paved the way for her selection as the No. 1 overall pick.
However, she found herself embroiled in culture wars, with some, including WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson, suggesting that her race played a role in her immense popularity. Despite experiencing rough fouls and verbal taunts throughout her rookie season, Clark remained unfazed, establishing numerous records in her first year. Returning to Iowa on Sunday to see her No. 22 jersey retired, Clark addressed the criticism she's faced recently. 'I think it’s just life. Everybody goes through some of the things that I’ve gone through, a lot of people go through a lot worse. I just try to remind myself every single day how grateful I am to be in the position I am, I want to treat everyone the same way that I would want to be treated. It speaks to the way I was raised and my parents raised me. There’s gonna be good days, there’s gonna be bad days. But it’s just, you go with the flow. I think having a good circle around me, a small circle around me of people that I really trust that I can always count on and lean on is what’s been so important for me over this past year,' Clark told reporters.Clark further stated, 'But also, I’ve said this before, I feel like one of my greatest skills is I really don’t care. Like, I don’t. I don’t care. I believe in myself, I’m confident in myself, I’m confident in my teammates, I try to instill that in them, I’m confident in the coaching staff of whatever team I was on, whether that was , whether that’s at the Fever now. You just rely on those people. Nobody gets to step inside your locker room… Everybody thinks they know everything and have an answer, but that’s just not reality. That goes for all of professional sports, that goes for all of you as well and people in life.' As Clark's rookie season progressed, allegations of racism surfaced from both Fever and Iowa fans, a claim echoed by Reese. However, her appearances in games attracted historically high viewership to both the college and professional levels. The final three games of her college career were the most-watched women's college basketball games ever. She also had several regular-season games draw more viewers than WNBA playoff games, and her WNBA matchups with Reese were some of the most-viewed WNBA games ever. Even WNBA teams had to relocate to larger arenas due to the overwhelming demand for tickets generated by Clark; the Fever sold 90 times more tickets this past year compared to 2023. Clark was named the Rookie of the Year for her historic campaign, during which she set the record for the most assists in a single season in league history. She guided the Fever to a playoff berth after a sluggish start and quickly established herself as a double-double machine. She even set a single-game record with 19 assists. She also became the first rookie to record a triple-double, achieving two of them. She received the most votes for the All-Star Game and was just the fifth rookie in league history to make the All-WNBA first-team.
Caitlin Clark WNBA Rookie Year Record Breaker Racism Allegations Viewership All-Star Game All-WNBA First Team
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