Caitlin Clark’s race ‘is a huge thing’ in her rise in popularity, claims WNBA star A’ja Wilson: ‘Boils my blood’ | HO

Caitlin Clark has been the biggest story in college basketball for two years thanks to her run to two national title games capping off a record-shattering collegiate career.

But as she’s set to take part in her first regular-season WNBA game, whether she likes it or not, discussions about her race and transition to playing pro ball have popped up.

She has not said anything to fuel any tensions between Black and White players. However, deals that she has already signed have led to conversations about double-standards in women’s pro basketball – even before her WNBA career has officially started.

‘I think it’s a huge thing. I think a lot of people may say it’s not about Black and white, but to me, it is,’ Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson said when asked in an interview with the Associated Press about the race element in Clark’s popularity and before she recently signed two major endorsement deals.

‘It really is because you can be top notch at what you are as a Black woman, but yet maybe that’s something that people don’t want to see.

Caitlin Clark’s race is ‘a huge thing’, according to Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson

Wilson says it ‘boils my blood’ when people believe that race isn’t a factor in marketability

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‘They don’t see it as marketable, so it doesn’t matter how hard I work. It doesn’t matter what we all do as Black women, we’re still going to be swept underneath the rug. That’s why it boils my blood when people say it’s not about race because it is.’

Sports can be elevated by a heated rivalry, particularly when race is involved.

Clark’s rise has come with an on-court bravado that made her must-watch TV as she led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back NCAA championship game appearances.

At Iowa, Clark’s on-court rival in the NCAA Tournament was former LSU star Angel Reese. Then she took on women’s juggernaut South Carolina and coach Dawn Staley.