Any way you slice it, the WNBA has a Caitlin Clark problem on its hands, and the list of concerns seems to be growing by the day.
First came complaints about a lack of protection for the former No. 1 overall pick. Then came criticism that the league had become overly physical, with some arguing that Clark still wasn’t getting the benefit of the whistle. Now, one journalist claims Clark may have overadjusted her game to the point of flopping, potentially endangering other players.
Columnist Claims Caitlin Clark’s ‘Flopping’ Is Putting WNBA Players at Risk
Interest in the WNBA is increasing, which is a great development for the sport. It’s leading to more quality discussions about how to further grow the game.
It’s also leading to a wider range of opinions.
On Wednesday, USA Today’s Nancy Armour went so far as to assert that Clark’s tendency to flop is placing other WNBA players at risk. It’s a passionate rant, one that’s sure to ruffle feathers.
“Indiana Fever All-Star Caitlin Clark and her enablers must take the rest of us for idiots,” Armour wrote. “The fouls they claim occurred? The ‘contusion’ she says she suffered? The technicals that aren’t deserved? Clark doesn’t suddenly become invisible when she’s involved in a physical play, so we can see what actually happened. Which is that Clark is flopping. And her histrionics while doing so are putting other people in danger.”
Then, Armour took things up a notch, bringing race into the picture.
“It seems there is a white nationalist element to Clark’s fandom that is deeply, deeply problematic, made even more so because the WNBA is made up predominantly of Black women, many of them queer,” Armour added.
“When Clark claims fouls that don’t exist, when she goes on profanity-laced tirades at referees, those racists see her as a white woman in need of saving and take matters into their own hands.”
The columnist used the location of the WNBA’s upcoming All-Star Game as an example to help further her case, continuing to point the finger partially at Clark for an apparent lack of awareness.
“It shouldn’t need reminding this country has an awful history of Black people being harmed, even killed, in the name of ‘defending’ white women,” Armour continued.
“The WNBA’s All-Star Game this weekend is in Chicago, Emmett Till’s hometown, and a local art gallery is currently hosting an exhibit imagining his life if he hadn’t been lynched. While it’s incumbent on the WNBA to do more to protect its players, there also should be an expectation on Clark to recognize the wider consequences of her actions.”
Overall, Armour claimed she’s “not a Clark hater,” acknowledging that the Fever guard is “great for the league and women’s sports.” Still, Armour contends that Clark will be “even better when she cuts out the Oscar auditions.”
