Will viewership tank once Caitlin Clark heads to the WNBA?
Women’s basketball has now broken records, and some believe it has a lot more to do with Caitlin Clark than anything else.
The television broadcast of the South Carolina-Iowa game averaged 18.9 million viewers and peaked at 24.1 million, which is the most views ever recorded for a men or women’s college basketball game on an ESPN platform.
“She’s brought a bunch of eyes to women’s college basketball,” Jeffy tells Pat Gray, who adds, “It’s hard for me to believe. The most-watched basketball game of any kind?”
While it’s an impressive feat, neither Gray or Jeffy believe the viewership will continue once Clark moves on to the WNBA.
“In the future, without Caitlin, you know there will be a few more eyes brought to women’s basketball,” Jeffy says.
Gray wonders if “they will stay there,” and Jeffy predicts, “No way.”
Even the vice president has gotten in on the madness by recently feigning interest in women’s basketball, claiming that women’s teams were not allowed to have brackets until 2022.
“A bit of a history lesson, do you know that the women’s teams were not allowed to have brackets until 2022? Think about that,” Kamala Harris said, despite being wrong.
“People used to say, ‘Ah, women’s sports, who’s interested?’” She added.
“We’ll check back in with you next year after Caitlin’s gone,” Gray laughs.
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Caitlin Clark attacked on and off the court; critics accuse her of ‘white privilege’
Caitlin Clark was on the receiving end of a hard foul from Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter during her WNBA game on Saturday — and it seemed the attack was for no apparent reason.
While no one is sure what prompted the attack, Sunny Hostin of “The View” has a theory.
“I do think that there is a thing called pretty privilege, there is a thing called white privilege, there is a thing called tall privilege, and we have to acknowledge that,” Hostin began.
“And so, part of it is about race because if you think about the Brittney Griners of the world, you know, why did she have to go to play in Russia, because they wouldn’t pay her,” she concluded.
Lauren Chen agrees that there is such a thing as pretty privilege and tall privilege but does not agree with Hostin’s comments about race.
“I think tall privilege is especially going to help you in the WNBA, but I just don’t understand the obsession with automatically, we have to make it about race. From what I understand, it seems like Caitlin Clark is measurably just a better player than these other women, regardless of what their race is,” Chen says.
“I think it’s just a lot easier to say, ‘Oh, well you’re only making it because you’re white,’ then just admit that ‘Yeah, you’re actually better than these other players,’” she adds.
While Chen disagrees with Hostin’s take, "The View" cohost isn’t alone in her views.
Jemele Hill also called Caitlin Clark’s fame “problematic” and about “race and sexuality.”
“We would all be very naive if we didn’t say race and her sexuality played a role in her popularity,” Hill told the L.A. Times. “While so many people are happy for Caitlin’s success — including the player; this has had such an enormous impact on the game — there is a part of it that is a little problematic because of what it says about the worth and the marketability of the players who are already there.”
“Well, maybe marketability is in part based on performance,” Chen comments. “And it kind of seems like Caitlin Clark is just a better performer regardless of her race or her sexuality.”
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