“As a white person, there is privilege” – Caitlin Clark takes strong stand on racial status as TIME’s 2024 Athlete of the Year

Caitlin Clark takes strong stand on racial status (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

During her historic rookie season in the WNBA, Caitlin Clark saw her name get weaponized in numerous racial arguments and narratives. While she opted to stay out of it at the time, she gave her stance on things following her latest achievement.

On Tuesday morning, Time magazine selected the Indiana Fever guard as their Athlete of the Year in 2024. During her interview with the publication, she opened up on her stance regarding race and the early success in her career. Clark made it clear that she’s worked hard for everything, but there is some privilege that comes with being a white athlete.

“I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” says Clark. “A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that.”

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Similar to all of her past comments, Caitlin Clark is trying to use her platform to lift up all of her WNBA counterparts. She is aware of the vast collection of talent across the league and wants to see everyone shine and succeed.

Caitlin Clark spoke out against her name being used in racial agendas

Early on in her rookie season, Caitlin Clark found herself in a very unwanted situation. While navigating her first year in the pros, she had to deal with people trying to weaponize her name and image to push hateful agendas.

Clark tried her best to stay out of things but did speak on the situation on a few occasions. Back in June, she opened up on how displeased she was to see her image used in such a way.

“People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable,” Clark said.

Seeing her name connected to racial agendas and narratives resulted in Caitlin Clark stepping away from social media. Instead, she prioritized putting her time and energy into things she can control.

“I don’t put too much thought and time into thinking about things like that, and to be honest, I don’t see a lot of it,” Clark said. “Basketball is my job. Everything on the outside, I can’t control that, so I’m not going to spend time thinking about that.”

Unfortunately for Clark, this isn’t a situation she is going to escape from anytime soon. As she continues to rise towards superstardom, people will continue to try and capitalize on her fame in all sorts of ways.