Caitlin Clark continues to shatter records.
But apparently, she has racism to thank for her achievements.
Clark and Nike are in an agreement on a historic 8-year, $28 million endorsement contract that will include her own signature shoe, according to ESPN.
The Athletic first reported that Clark was on the verge of signing the record breaking deal on April 17, although the length and dollar amount were not yet known.
Instead of celebrating this historic deal and giving props to Clark for all she’s done for women’s basketball so far, one USA Today columnist cried foul because Clark’s deal apparently shows black WNBA players aren’t be treated the same as white players.
In commenting on Clark’s deal, Mike Freeman of USA Today noted that “Clark would join only three other WNBA players with signature shoes: Breanna Stewart, Elena Delle Donne and Sabrina Ionescu. You may notice a pattern there.”
The three other players, like Clark, are white.
While Ionescu and Stewart’s shoes are still available, Della Donne’s shoe currently isn’t listed on the Nike website.
Freeman argued that it was unfair that players like Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, who is black, doesn’t have her own shoe.
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“Wilson is one of the greatest stars of our time. Any athlete of her caliber should already have a signature shoe. It is the order of things. In fact, it should have happened years ago,” Freeman said.
Wilson, a two-time WNBA MVP and two-time WNBA champion, said in 2023 that she expects to get a signature shoe “in due time,” according to Freeman.
Freeman also pointed out that, up until recently, almost every player who had a signature in the WNBA was black.
“There’ve only been 12 players in the history of the WNBA with their own signature shoe. In the past, almost every signature shoe from 1995-2011 belonged to a black woman,” he said.
Freeman went on to say that the WNBA isn’t treating black and white players equally.
“The fact that only white women hold the power of the signature shoe now, as the WNBA enters its most high profile and prosperous phase, shows how black women are being ignored in a league that they dominate,” he said.
Freeman did say that “Clark deserves every endorsement she’s getting,” but he argued that black players in the WNBA do, too.
“What so much of this comes down to is a lack of respect for the black women of the WNBA. A lack of respect for black Americans overall isn’t something new to the marketing world. This is old hat. That doesn’t change the ugliness of it,” Freeman said.
Mark Harris of OutKick published a scathing rebuke of Freeman’s article, saying that “Freeman only sees skin color.”
“If that reads like Freeman is complaining about the fact that some white women have been awarded the opportunity for a signature shoe, it’s because that’s exactly what he’s doing,” Harris said.
Freeman’s mentality is exactly what is going to continue to drive fans away from sports.
Consistently playing the victim card and complaining that life isn’t fair because of racism, is a tactic that is getting very old.
Sports should function as a meritocracy, where the best players are rewarded with the most lucrative offers.
Freeman is right to note that Wilson, who is one of the league’s best players, deserves a signature shoe.
But it’s not because she’s black, it’s because she’s good.
And as for the other three players that Freeman mentioned besides Clark, they also happen to be very good.
Ionescu is an up and coming all-star. Both Stewart and Della Donne have won two MVP awards each and been selected to multiple all-star games.
The point is, the other three women besides Clark who have signature shoe deals are among the best players in the WNBA.
Clark, too, isn’t getting a signature shoe because she is white, but rather because she is one of the most popular and exciting female athletes in recent memory, as her March Madness games drew unprecedented viewership numbers for women’s basketball.
As one X user pointed out, Clark’s popularity will likely yield a lot of sales revenue, which in turn will open the door for all WNBA players to get their very own signature.
Because if they give Aja Wilson a shoe and it doesn’t sell, it ruins future endorsements and deals for WNBA players! Now when CC shoe sells, it allows other players(black or white) to have their shoe as well. There is nothing confusing about economics! https://t.co/vOX69ExyyX
— Marxuz X (@MarxuzRzr) April 18, 2024
It may seem repetitive, but when articles like the one Freeman wrote are published, people have to be reminded that sports are a meritocracy, and not an institution that is against black people.
If these leagues really were against black people, then 63.8 percent of the WBNA would not be black, as Statista reported in 2023.
This type of backwards thinking is going to lead us, as you would guess, backwards.
Until media pundits stop trying to blame racism for every world problem, our society will never be able to move forward. The only way to move forward is to move forward together and see people as more than the color of their skin.
Let’s hope that our society can finally start appreciating everyone for who they are, and not what they look like.
