Even if you don't follow the WNBA, and I am presuming you don't, you have likely at least heard of Caitlin Clark. She is a phenom to say the least and despite the arrogance of the other people that are in the league, her excellence is undeniable as she continues to set record after record in her first year in the league.
src
She has been dismissed by many in the WNBA whose stubbornness is a massive part of the reason why the WNBA hasn't managed to turn a profit a single year that it has been around, which has been around 20 years. They likely will turn a profit this year and everyone knows that it is exclusively because of Caitlin Clark. The players that have been around for a while outright refuse to recognize that she is the reason why people are now tuning in and selling out arenas. Instead, they try to come up with some really silly reasons as to why the increase in attendance and ratings just happen to coincide with Caitlin's arrival.
When she was MVP of the NCAA (or whatever that award is called) and was selected first in the draft after setting the record for most points scored during a college career for both men and women, her detractors first tried to claim that she got to play an extra year because of Covid (not true, she played FEWER games because of it) and after that was pointed out to them they smugly tried to state that the only reason she was doing so well is because she was playing against little kids in college and that the pros were a totally different thing: "reality is about to set in" and "she's in for a real wake-up call" were two of the things that stick out in my mind that were said by salty veterans of the W. Then when she turned up to the WNBA and started setting records, the same critics started saying that "it's just a rookie record, most rookies don't get that much court time so it isn't a fair comparison."
Then they started to talk about how she is only popular and getting as much court time as she does because..... racism.
Well, I wonder what those same salty critics have to say now because she just set a record that is an all-time record for the WNBA, among ANY player, not just rookies.
src
In a game yesterday vs the Dallas Wings, Caitlin Clark set the single game record for assists with a staggering 19 assists. She simultaneously broke the franchise assist record for the Indiana Fever with a season total of 202. We are only about halfway through the season. The overall WNBA season record on assists currently sits at 316 and barring any sort of injury, Caitlin is going to break that as well.
The detractors wanted to bring in her age, her height, and of course, her race into reasons why she shouldn't be considered one of the best in the league. They also tried to claim that she gets so many points because she is a "ball hog." Well, ball hogs don't generally pass the ball off 19 friggin times in one game so that her teammates can get the basket instead now, do they?
The critics are running out of reasons to deny her the status that she deserves and the fact that they did it in the first place is one of the only reasons I continue to watch the WNBA. Ok, I'll admit I am watching the highlights, not entire games. The salty critics are slowly disappearing into the background and trying to pretend as though these were things that they never said but the internet doesn't forget.
Her position is already looking very good for heading to GOAT status, and she is only 1/2 of the way through her very first season with a very inexperienced team. Imagine what she will be doing a few years from now?