By Ray Conner
Two players that are bringing in the fans, but the hate is real in the WNBA.
The past two years of the NCAA Women’s College Basketball drove the hype of two players that made people tune in to the games being played. Caitlyn Clark of Iowa and Angel Reese of LSU. These became the face of women’s basketball. Clark busted all scoring records in the NCAA and proved that she was a very talented player. Yet most of the women that play in the WNBA came across as spiteful, hating ladies. They hated on Clark and made some egregious statements concerning when she got to the WNBA.
I guess being white is a liability for the WNBA. Clark who just happens to be white, has been called many, many names that could be offensive. Yet all she does is ball. Playing for the Indiana Fever, all she does is scores points, get her teammates involved and is putting fannies in the seat of arenas around the WNBA.
By the same token Reese who happens to be black has been called many names that would appear to be offensive. Thug, overrated, conceited you get the gist. She plays for the Chicago Sky and is doing the same for the WNBA. Fans are coming to watch her play.
This past Sunday was the first meeting of the two new faces of the WNBA. Both teams played hard, it was a competitive game. Both players had exceptional games for a pair of rookies that were going to have trouble when they came into the league. But all I see are two PLAYERS wanting to win. They hustled on the court and both are making fans take notice that this rivalry can only help the WNBA.
It reminds me a lot of when the NBA was struggling. The league was not drawing fans, no body was watching the games on TV or any where else. Then Magic and Bird showed up and made the game fun again. Their rivalry was deep rooted in basketball, not race. They were two players that played the game their way and had a special talent that made them good. Of course, it only helped that one played for Boston and one for the Los Angelas Lakers. Two storied franchises that had built up a rivalry from the early years. Now they were back to becoming just that again. It was Bird and Magic that saved the NBA.
Much the same way that Clark and Reese are doing for the WNBA. It is my hope that the rivalry continues and people stop with the race card and the hate and just see two basketball players that love the game and will do everything they can to win. I guess that’s a Matter of Opinion.
