The WNBA has faced a social dilemma all season as race and privilege has been at the center of conversations concerning rookie sensation and league cash cow Caitlin Clark.
Sue Bird was one of the most highly-touted women’s basketball players in history coming out of Christ The King High School in Queens and then going on to become a legend at UConn and an icon in WNBA history.
Over the years, she’s also been ally for her WNBA sisters in the war against racial and gender inequality.
Sue Bird is not Black, so her basketball journey has been different than most of her teammates in many ways, but she believes racism in the WNBA has existed long before Caitlin Clark entered the league.
Bird shared her thoughts about the unfair treatment of Black players in the league with her wife, soccer legend Megan Rapinoeon their podcast “A Touch More.”
Sue Bird Says Racism Has Been Around Before Caitlin Clark, Who’s Being Used As Pawn
“Racism has been impacting the WNBA well before this year,” the four-time WNBA champion said at the 30:30 mark. “This is not a new thing. In that way, I think Caitlin is being used as a pawn. Caitlin didn’t bring racism to the WNBA. This has been happening. And that, I think, has been a shock for all of us. That other people are surprised by this. We’ve been trying to tell you.”
Bird said she’s saddened by the fact that the conversations about the WNBA are more focused on Clark and how she’s treated by Black players throughout the league and not on the actual basketball being played.
Video Surfaces Of A’ja Wilson Comparing White Privilege Of Kelsey Plum and Paige Bueckers
Bird’s remarks come in the same week that video surfaced of Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson lecturing her white teammate Kelsey Plum about her “white privilege” and complimenting current UConn star and projected No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers on her acknowledgement of her privilege. Wilson said Paige reminds her of Plum in that regard.
Plum has acknowledged her privilege in the past and was married to a Black man, ex-NFL star Darren Walker, so it was strange that Wilson would give her such a backhanded compliment.
Wilson’s entire attitude doesn’t come out of nowhere. Clark’s presence has created a divide between the legions of new fans that she has personally ushered into the game and the old fans led by the old regime.
Women who have paid there dues and feel overlooked because of the attention paid to the new rookie crop.
Bird, who was once the “it” white girl in the WNBA, asserts that she has never seen an opposing player purposely try to hurt Clark out of petty jealousy.
The notion that Connecticut Suns guard DiJonai Carrington was intentionally trying to hurt CC was absurd to begin with, but social media kept flaming the fire to the point that Suns players accused Clark fans of racially charged and denigrating communication and demanded that the WNBA step in.
A group of players, including NY Liberty two -time MVP Breanna Stewart, who is white, blasted commissioner Cathy Englebert for not directly denouncing any racism or misogyny or sexual discrimination against the league by fans on social media.
WNBA fans and Breanna Stewart call out Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for ignoring social media sexism and racism.https://t.co/UkEsJBdLXo
The issues surrounding Clark’s year-long saga with Carrington, came to a head after Christine Brennan of USA Today asked Carrington if there was intentionality when she “swatted at” Clark and left her with a black eye.
“I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye. That doesn’t even make sense to me,” Carrington said. “I didn’t know I hit her, actually. I was trying to make a play on the ball and I guess I followed through and I hit her, so obviously it’s never intentional. That’s not even the type of player I am.”
Brennan followed that by questioning if Carrington and Marina Mabrey were laughing later in the same game about what she did to Clark. “I can’t laugh about something I didn’t know happened,” she responded.
WNBA Players Union Strikes Down Hard On USA Today Reporter
The WNBA Players Association released a statement accusing Brennan of “a blatant attempt to bait a professional athlete into participating in a narrative that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic and misogynistic vitriol on social media.”
Jackson also said Brennan “abused your credentials and do not deserve the credentials issued to you.”
USA Today issued a statement in support of Brennan who was “only trying to get the player’s perspective.”
Bird, the 2021 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, didn’t want the fact that she has seen race play a factor in the league since her arrival in in 2002 through her retirement in 2022 to be lost or downplayed by WNBA fans.
A player with four WNBA titles, 13 All-Star games and a spot on the WNBA’s 10th-, 15th-, 20th- and 25th-anniversary teams should at least be able to offer a valued opinion.
