This past weekend, former President Barack Obama extended his support to the standout basketball player Caitlin Clark during her visit to Chicago for the much-anticipated WNBA All-Star Game. As Clark, now in her impressive third year, readied herself for the prestigious event, Obama took the chance to share some heartfelt advice.
During their meeting, the former president offered Clark wisdom drawn from his own experiences, speaking with sincerity and encouragement.
“You’re great, you’re fantastic,” Obama told Clark as they stood on the indoor basketball court at the Obama Presidential Center last Friday. “Don’t let all this nonsense get you down. I always say one of the things that was luckiest for me was I didn’t get famous until I was like 45,” he reflected. “So, I was an old man. You’re my daughters’ age; they haven’t had that much immersion in nonsense, so don’t lose that joy. The game’s, like, the game. And you’re a hooper.”
Clark has navigated a challenging season marked by a resurgence of harsh personal fouls, issues reminiscent of the troubles she faced during her rookie year and shortened sophomore season.
Public discourse surrounding these fouls, and whether the league is effectively managing them, has escalated into a significant controversy. The situation was further complicated recently when WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was urged by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to take action, leading to the suspension of Phoenix Mercury’s DeWanna Bonner. Bonner had aggressively struck Clark in the neck while she was on the ground, adding fuel to the ongoing scandal.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews interviewed Clark on Friday and asked her about her critics and the controversy that has yet again embroiled her.
“I think there’s just like a false characterization of who I am sometimes,” Clark said. “And I get it, like, as a reporter or as a blogger, like you can write an opinion piece and that’s your job and whatever. But at the same time, like you don’t know me. Like we’ve never had a conversation. I get people have a job to do. But at the same time, like don’t make accusations about my character and who I am when you don’t know me. I understand this is your job and this is your profession, and this is what you get to do. And basketball is my profession, what I get to do. And the reason I play it is when I step in between the lines, I love it. And that’s what’s so fun about it for me: I get to compete. This was always my dream. And nobody should ever try to take that away from me.”
While Obama’s message to Clark about not losing her joy is clearly positive and perhaps a needed encouragement. It may also help if the former president, or anyone for that matter, would tell the majority-Black WNBA players who routinely attack Clark to stop.
Or, to tell WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to get a hold of her league or step aside for someone who will.
A message like that coming from someone like Obama, who likely holds considerable sway in WNBA locker rooms due to the political leanings of most of the players, could go a long way.