by Ernie McCray
I’m hearing sentiments lately
about how
some of the greatest women’s basketball players
in college history
have been Black women,
players that haven’t received
anywhere near the attention
that Caitlin Clark,
a White player, has gotten
and I have no real argument with that
but can we really make this about race
when the fact is,
until recent times,
no woman player,
no matter her hue,
ever really got their due -
as hardly anyone cared about them
because basketball fans were deep into
the men’s game
if you want the truth.
And it just so happens that lately
the men’s college teams
have been a little lean
when it comes to the kind of superstar players
that everyone wants to see,
and then Caitlin comes along
dazzling us
on our television screens
with laser-beam-like passes
to open players
that are rarely seen
and her ability
to knock down 3’s
from seemingly anywhere in the vicinity,
and pull up for 2’s
with relative ease,
scoring more points in college
than any woman
or man has in the sport’s history,
bringing women’s basketball, at every level,
into the bright lights
like no one has ever done before,
selling out arenas
night after night.
Truly a sight to see.
And I’d say rather than players in the league
making a case
for Caitlin’s popularity
being about race,
they’d be much better off
thinking about her contributions to the game,
how she’s drawing more and more people to watch them play,
and thank her, in a grateful way,
for all the money
her fame
is bringing their way,
especially after all the complaining they’ve done
over the years
regarding their poor pay.
It has to be understood that she’s taken women’s basketball
into a new day
and that spirit
seems as though it’s here to stay.
Love each other,
you women in the
WNBA.