00:00No, no text messages, nothing. Nobody reached out.
00:04This was the reaction of Katelyn Clark when the news reporter asked about her latest historic
00:09triple-double. Does this mean people hate her? Let's take a deeper look into what's
00:14happening with Katelyn Clark.
00:17Katelyn Clark has achieved things on a basketball court that nobody else has ever done before.
00:23She's accomplished even more, faster and better than anyone before her.
00:28Known for her triples, Clark doubled down last Saturday and recorded the WNBA's first
00:33ever triple-double by a rookie. When she grabbed her 10th rebound to complete the historic
00:38triple-double, Clark was met with a roar from the crowd.
00:42The league has seen just 35 triple-doubles in its 27 seasons and currently just four
00:48in its 28th season. No player wearing an Indiana Fever jersey had ever recorded a triple-double
00:54until Clark, who has now accomplished this feat just 22 games into her professional career.
01:00Through her first 22 games in the league, Clark has reached double figures in scoring
01:0518 times. She's tallied 10 or more assists four times and grabbed double-digit rebounds
01:11three times. She was one rebound shy of a triple-double earlier in the season against
01:17the Phoenix Mercury, scoring 15 points, grabbing 9 rebounds and completing 12 assists.
01:24She now has three consecutive double-doubles with points and assists, the longest such
01:29streak by a rookie in league history. She also finds herself sixth on the WNBA's all-time
01:34list for total assists by a rookie. Her 162 assists also happen to be the best assist
01:41total in the league this season.
01:43Clark's ability to break and set records at a seemingly unsustainable pace is rooted
01:48in her competitive nature. It's that drive to be the best that motivates her to keep
01:53getting better. However, despite Caitlyn breaking records, some people still hate her.
01:59After becoming the first rookie ever to record a triple-double in a WNBA game, the congratulatory
02:05messages seem to reach her after a delay. News 8's Angela Morian asked the all-star
02:11what the reaction was like on her phone and social media postgame. Her reply was,
02:16No text messages, nothing, Clark said with a straight face. This shows a clear hatred
02:21for her. We've never seen a generational talent like Caitlyn Clark be this polarizing
02:26figure in sports early in a career. You might combat that statement by mentioning a guy
02:31like LeBron James, who has a significant number of haters, but the majority of those haters
02:37also have a great deal of respect for him. His hatred was built up over time.
02:42When it comes to Caitlyn Clark, there has been a lot of hate and disrespect from the
02:46very beginning. Fans will be fans and say whatever they want, whether it's based on
02:50facts or opinions, but when former and current players pile on as well, you have to stop
02:56and evaluate the situation. You don't have to like Caitlyn Clark or her playstyle, but
03:01you definitely have to recognize and acknowledge what she's done for the game of women's
03:06basketball. No other college athlete in the past 25 years has transcended their sport
03:11like Clark has. Women's college basketball is at its peak in popularity right now, and
03:17that's largely due to Clark. As Dawn Staley said, after the national championship, Clark
03:22is undisputedly one of the greatest of all time in the sport, but not everyone likes
03:27to hear that. So, let us briefly go over some of the responses from the legends of women's
03:33basketball to Caitlyn's play on the court.
03:36Cheryl Swoopes tried to invalidate her scoring record with incorrect statements. Diana Taurasi
03:42sent a warning to Clark about her future in the WNBA. Brianna Stewart said Clark needed
03:47a championship to be considered an all-time great, and Lynette Woodard said Clark didn't
03:52break her scoring record because Clark didn't play with men's basketball and without a three-point
03:57line. These are four legends in women's basketball who refuse to uplift someone who has helped
04:03change the game. Instead, they're nitpicking her legacy.
04:08Clark, on the other hand, is quick to acknowledge the groundwork that was laid before her. So
04:13why do so many people disrespect Caitlyn Clark? Is it a race thing? Or is it about comparing
04:18Caitlyn with legends? Or do people think she's too overrated? Let's sit down and answer some
04:23of these questions.
04:25Is it a race thing? Whether people want to admit it or not, almost everything in this
04:29country can be boiled down to race and the privilege that white Americans benefit from
04:34that African Americans historically don't. Especially considering the legends that Caitlyn
04:39is being compared to and even placed ahead of are predominantly African American women,
04:44as well as the two teams she's faced in the national title in consecutive years were led
04:48by predominantly African American women, rosters and faces. With all that being said, we do
04:54think that she unfairly became the face of an online race war that she didn't ask for.
04:59She doesn't speak negatively about anybody and isn't disrespectful, but somehow she has
05:04become the lightning rod of race debates on Twitter by merely being great at basketball.
05:10The hate she has received is misplaced. If it's not race, is it because her name is in
05:15conversations with all time greats? Listen, you always have to respect the legends that
05:21came before you. These are the words of Caitlyn Clark. All the greats like Maya Moore, Cheryl
05:27Swoopes, Lynette Woodard, Brianna Stewart, Diana Taurasi and many other names have set
05:33the foundation, but a foundation is created to be built upon. Caitlyn has a talent we've
05:39never seen before, she's producing numbers that we've never seen before and, quite frankly,
05:44she's playing with less talent than a lot of these names. We can't deny her greatness.
05:49She's broken nearly every scoring record in the sport. Let's not penalise her for a team
05:54award in college when she's proven her greatness. It's annoying to see greats like Cheryl Swoopes,
06:00Lynette Woodard, Diana Taurasi and Brianna Stewart not embrace Clark for what she's done.
06:06When somebody is breaking records and being compared to icons that we grew up watching
06:10and generations before us saw build a sport to prominence, there will always be some sort
06:15of pushback against new names being thrown in the conversation. When somebody comes along
06:20who surpasses the iconic names of the past, it will inevitably lead to some uncomfortable
06:25conversations and possibly even over-the-top hate. If it's not about the greats, then is
06:31it because you think she's overrated or overhyped? We just don't get how you can call her overrated.
06:37She just averaged 32, 7, 9 with every defence keying in on her. She's a talent we've never
06:43seen before in the women's game, she's brought attention to the game like nobody else. Like
06:48Dawn Staley said, she's one of the greatest to ever play. All the record-breaking television
06:53ratings included games revolving around Caitlin Clark. Sure she doesn't have a ring, but that
06:58doesn't take away from what she's done for the game and what she's produced on the court.
07:03We honestly think she is appropriately rated. Whether you think she is the GOAT is your
07:08own prerogative, but she has forced her way into the conversation and is not out of place.
07:14The NCAA's all-time leading scorer for men's and women's basketball as well as one of the
07:19greatest passers we have seen, means she belongs in the conversation. If you recognise
07:25her greatness while also believing somebody like Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore or Candice
07:30Parker is better, you're not wrong at all. Like Caitlin said, you need to respect the
07:36legends and also support the young talents. This is what the WNBA needed.
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