If you are the sort of person who goes looking for “racism” under every nook and cranny, you will, more often than not, find it — typically the instant you look in the mirror.
Critics of Indiana Fever superstar rookie Caitlin Clark frequently find themselves fitting that archetype.
Just to get this out of the way: This is not to imply Clark is above criticism. She is a sieve on defense, and you can’t deny that she’s a turnover machine.
But then there are the criticisms that go beyond a basketball court.
Namely, the criticisms that involve the color of her skin or her sexuality. The idea is that Clark, by virtue of being white and straight, is being favored and especially propped up in a league that’s largely black and lesbian.
Not only are those criticisms unfair to the former Iowa star (What is she supposed to do? Tell people to stop cheering for her?), but they’re also cheap criticisms that are clearly meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
Speaking of lowest common denominators, did you know ESPN held its annual ESPY Awards show on Thursday?
The event was hosted by tennis star Serena Williams, and the whole show was the exact sort of drivel one would come to expect from ESPN in 2024.
That still didn’t make her remarks about Clark and “white people” any less obnoxious.
Have you stopped watching ESPN?
(Full disclosure: If you couldn’t tell by my last name, I’m neither white nor black. I’m a neutral outside observer.)
“Caitlin Clark had an amazing year and is nominated for three awards,” Williams said, in what one could generously describe as a comedy bit.
Of note, the crowd erupted at the mere mention of Clark’s name, before the tennis star compared her to Boston Celtics and Indiana State legend Larry Bird.
Williams continued, “Caitlin, you are the Larry Bird [of the WNBA] in that you are an amazing player, you have ties to Indiana, and, uh, white people are really crazy about you.”
Oh, brother. It’s always about race, isn’t it?
First of all, please note the incredible double standard on display here. Could you imagine if a white host had said, “Uh, black people are really crazy about LeBron James” at the show?
By the left’s definition, that was a racist joke.
Second, Williams’ snide and definitionally racist joke definitely did not land, if social media responses are any indication.
“Jealousy is ugly on EVERYONE,” one response on the social media platform X said.
Another user quoted Williams’ use of “white people,” before adding that it’s “a shame Serena had to go there, she should do better.”
A different user noted that he and his family were Latino and big fans of Clark.
One person posted that she was black and a fan of Clark, before blasting Williams as “pathetic.”
Wrong. I am very much Black and very much a Caitlin fan. I guess Serena got the memo after her previous support of Caitlin. Pathetic.
— Black Together Again (@KProtein19) July 12, 2024
The best response to the viral clip, however, came from a user who pointed out the real issue of normalizing these sorts of one-way, racially charged digs:
“Divide, divide, divide,” the X user lamented. “Dang, what a waste of a moment to unite.”
Divide, divide, divide. Dang, what a waste of a moment to unite. 💔
— AMERICANGIRL1🇺🇸 (@pr0650) July 12, 2024
Seriously.
