WNBA advocate and Caitlin Clark defender Jaime Lardis came for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on X for comments he made about the obsession with media pushing Caitlin Clark as face of the league and why it is disrespectful to other players, as well as inaccurate.
“So this morning I did some digging to see if Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had ever made negative comments about the WNBA over the last 30 years. I found absolutely nothing. The only criticism I could find was his recent comments about Caitlin Clark not being the face of the league. That’s it. So sad!”
With little to report about following Clark’s abysmal performance in a loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday, Lardis came for the 79-year-old NBA GOAT.
The setup is always crazy. People ask Kareem about Clark being face of the league. He takes time out from enjoying the precious days he has left on this earth, equipped with all of his transformational and generational accolades dating back to Power Memorial HS in New York to his college exploits at UCLA and his unprecedented NBA success, to give his opinion on CC. His dedication to social and civil activism in the face of racism and other systemic issues that have plagued this country since its inception should also be the first thing you think of.
Abdul-Jabbar definitely called Clark “very good, possibly even a great” player, but argued that anointing her as the “face of the league” is disrespectful to other accomplished WNBA stars. This is not a new narrative. Just one that Clark fans choose to ignore.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Comments on Caitlin Clark and the “Face of the League” Debate
He wrote:
“Don’t get me wrong: Clark is a very good, possibly even a great, player. But calling any one player the face of the league, absent the sort of on-court and cross-platform dominance of a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James, is an insult to an awful lot of great players”
Caitlin Clark Fans Think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Is Out Of Line With Comments
Calling him “sad” because he doesn’t agree with thrusting such a huge title upon a player who has yet to earn it and elevating them to an heir on par with players who have dominated their respective leagues for years with a two-way ferocity and championship hardware that only a few players possess.
Apparently, however, much of the fan base in the comment section agreed with Lardis.
“Truly meaningless, point on Clark. I respected him as an awesome player. I don’t think his comment makes any sense. Kareem they are literally kicking Caitlin’s ass and other players as well that don’t have the spotlight on them like Caitlin. Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one,” said one Clark fan.
“Jabber is a known racist. If Clark was black he would be saying nothing,” one user commented.
“Take a random poll of 10 people on the street of who Aja Wilson is and who Caitlin Clark is, I would wager most of them would know Clark and not Wilson. Where was Wilson’s popularity prior to Clark?” another netizen asked, challenging Kareem’s comments.
“Jabar is my goat but pointless in what he said about clark,” a fan chimed in.
Said one fan, who claims Kareem hated on Larry Bird the same way in the 1980s:
“He hated the fact that Bird was the face of the NBA when he joined the league. Even though Bird along with Magic saved the league and that led to Kareem actually making some real money in the last part of his career. Something that didn’t happen in the first part before Bird.”
Caitlin Clark Fans Come For Kareem Abudl-Jabbar: Was He Speaking Truth?
Kareem addressed the WNBA’s debate over whether Clark is the league’s “face” in a Substack post responding to a letter from 11 Republican lawmakers to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, where they fawned over Clark (and justifiably so when it comes her economic impact on the league) saying she “has become one of the most influential figures in the history of women’s basketball” and “significantly increased fan interest, driven record television ratings, and attracted new corporate sponsors”
With these broad statements concerning Clark, the 27 years before she entered the league gets brushed aside and ignored.
Women of the WNBA have been accomplishing greatness, fighting for better pay and promotion for years. Some have had two decade careers with multiple forms of hardware beyond a 2024 Rookie of the Year award and three fan-favorite all-star appearances.
Kareem is just bringing some perspective to the situation because he too was a larger-than-life and transcending athlete with immense pressure to succeed and break barriers.
The 6-time NBA champion and MVP, and two-time Finals MVP, whose NBA all-time scoring record was eclipsed by LeBron James, specifically cited A’ja Wilson (three titles, four MVPs), Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, and Alyssa Thomas as examples of players who have already achieved elite status and deserve recognition.
So it’s not like he didn’t know the elite players or what was going on in the league. His comments were directed at the lawmakers’ letter, which added fuel to the fire of the Alyssa Thomas fist-to-throat play with Caitlin Clark, which is now part of WNBA lore. It seems even Kareem at age 79 and his world of accomplishments and keen basketball eye, isn’t safe when he doesn’t give Clark anything but mythic praise.
