{"id":5967,"date":"2024-06-25T11:40:05","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T11:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/?p=5967"},"modified":"2024-06-25T12:48:08","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T12:48:08","slug":"caitlin-clark-wnba-hype-noise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/caitlin-clark-wnba-hype-noise","title":{"rendered":"Caitlin Clark: Changing the WNBA, Living Up to the Hype, and Silencing the Noise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you were to list the most hyped basketball prospects of the 21st century, you would start with LeBron James<\/a>, Victor Wembanyama<\/a>, and Caitlin Clark<\/a>. But only Clark came into her league with expectations of taking the WNBA<\/a> to places it has never reached since it started play in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NBA was still going to be popular and profitable no matter if LeBron lived up to the hype as the next great one to replace the loss of Michael Jordan, and it will do the same if Wembanyama does not become a superstar in the post-James era<\/a> that\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after a record-setting college career at Iowa where Clark broke the NCAA scoring record<\/a>, she was a no-brainer decision for the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever<\/a>, a region with a great appreciation for the game of basketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the honeymoon was short-lived as Gregg Doyel, one of the main reporters from the Indianapolis Star<\/em> assigned to cover Clark locally this season, had a bizarre interaction<\/a> with Clark during her debut press conference in April. Doyel was disciplined and will not attend Fever games this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little did we know that this would only be the tip of the iceberg in the way the media covers Clark in her rookie season, which is almost halfway completed.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Caitlin
(Via 365Scores)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Rarely is the loudest Clark coverage about actual basketball play as a big part of the story has been the fact that Clark is a white, heterosexual player in a WNBA that is predominantly Black and has a significant percentage of players (roughly 38%<\/a>) who identify as members of the LGBT community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when Clark takes a hard foul<\/a> from a player of a different background than her, it becomes a news story on CNN<\/a>, a left-wing think piece in The Atlantic<\/em>, a right-wing attack on Black and gay players, and a nasty battle between both sides on social media. Don\u2019t even get started on reading about her feud with fellow rookie Angel Reese, or how Clark was left off the Olympic basketball roster for Team USA this year. You\u2019ll just find more angry people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have somehow turned a phenomenal basketball prospect into a culture war pawn not even 20 games into her career<\/strong>. The reality is this 22-year-old just wants to play basketball<\/a>, she is living up to the hype on the court, the WNBA is seeing records<\/a> in attendance and TV ratings, and this is happening despite the toxicity and noise that comes with coverage of her career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a change, let\u2019s take a data-driven approach to look at why Clark was such a hyped prospect, why she struggled out of the gate in the WNBA, and why she should still deservingly win the WNBA\u2019s Rookie of the Year award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n