A Transformational Season

The inaugural WNBA season has ended for Caitlin Clark, and what a year she has had after leading Iowa to the championship game, jumping right into the WNBA year, and leading her team to the playoffs as well as earning rookie of the year honors. Her statistics were outstanding and she seemed to grow as a player throughout the season. Her impact on the league itself was incredible: attendance across the league jumped 48% and the league’s games drew 54 million unique viewers, according to ESPN. Certainly Clark has a large impact on all of this and if you add in the economic impact on the communities that hosted games as well as the attention and social media interest that was garnered, it has probably been the most successful season in WNBA history.

I have written before about my history with Caitlin Clark (yes, she scored 60 points in our gym as a junior…) and I was quite confident she was going to be successful at the professional level after the development she made at Iowa. Besides the improvement I have seen on the court, she has handled all of the scrutiny and press (good and bad), incredibly well. At her press conferences, she is always well spoken and conveys the right messages as a leader and a role model. There have been very few athletes who have received the attention Clark has and she always seems to say the right things. I still believe she has some work to do with her reactions to situations (like officiating calls) on the floor but overall, there is much to be excited about and much to look forward to.

Unfortunately, not everything associated with the season has been positive…numerous reports have surfaced of players being harassed verbally in person and online with comments that were often racist in nature and not related to basketball. We know that Clark has been the target of a variety of attacks but at the end of the season, a number of opposing players, particularly from the Connecticut Sun, shared that they had been attacked online by Fever fans. This has resulted in a lot of finger pointing about who is to blame instead of being upfront and communicating that this is wrong and no one should have to tolerate this sort of communication.

Clark to her credit came out strongly against the actions of her supporters who were part of the harassment:

“Nobody in our league should be facing any sort of racism, hurtful, disrespectful (or) hateful comments and threats,” Clark said. “Those aren’t fans. Those are trolls, and it’s a real disservice to the people in our league, the organization, the WNBA.”

It’s disheartening that athletes are being harassed in any fashion and especially when racism, hate, and threats are involved. We are talking about sporting events that are meant as entertainment and yet we have the participants (players, coaches, officials) dealing with threats of all sorts. I’ve talked in other newsletter additions about the role social media is playing in the world and it has definitely empowered those who wish to make their opinions known with an avenue to speak out. Unfortunately, we are seeing similar actions when it comes to our political leaders and their followers throughout the country. Why has it become ok to speak disrespectfully of others and make harmful remarks often to people we don’t even know?

How do we turn this around and create a more respectful and positive when it comes to not only our activities but our world in general? Here are a few ideas pulled from the season:

• Call out inappropriate comments/behavior. If it’s unacceptible, let’s make it known and not let people get away with it. If we are silent on disrespectful behavior, it may be a sign of acceptance-that is never ok.

• Model appropriate responses and behavior. People are watching what we say and what we do-do our actions and words match how we want to be perceived by others? Adults are role models for our youth-how are we leading them and getting them ready for the future?

• Think about the purpose of the words we use…are they making a situation better or worse? What makes me the expert on a situation someone else is in or what they are experiencing? Just because someone is on an “opposing side” as me doesn’t mean I can say anything I want about them. Is it truly worth saying something hurtful about someone else just because they are on an opposing team or they disagree with my view of something? I would hope we could all answer no to this!

• Can we all be more empathetic to others and try to understand their circumstances before speaking ill will toward them and jump into a situation that doesn’t involved me? When we are watching a sporting event and someone messes up, do we know why it happened, circumstances they may have caused the mess up, or any other details before we pass judgement?

At the end of an amazing season from Caitlin Clark, we should be talking all of the amazing accomplishments, the growth of the game, and what the future holds. Instead, we are talking about hate, harassment, and inappropriate comments. If this were just a sports problem, it would be one thing….unfortunately, it is permeating through too many aspects of life. We all should and can do better when it comes to responding to others and treatment of those we disagree with. We owe it to everyone to be different and be better in acting appropriately. Let’s celebrate the successes of others and make sure that we treat others like we want to be treated. Have a great week!

Coach K