Women's basketball superstars are at a crossroads in college basketball, women's professional sports, and broader race and gender relations.
Last year's NCAA Women's Basketball Championship between Louisiana State University and the University of Iowa caused controversy after LSU player Angel Reese made a gesture that many perceived as disrespectful toward Iowa State player Caitlin Clark. brewed.
Reese, a Black woman, received immediate misogynistic backlash for the gesture online, even though Clark had made a similar gesture earlier in the game.
The situation placed unwarranted and unwanted stress and attention on both Rees and Clark, and evoked a long history of racially defined conflicts across the sports world. This has prompted fans and critics to examine the social roles traditionally assigned to white and black athletes and how these deeply held expectations continue to influence broader perceptions of individual athletes. I started thinking.
As this year's NCAA Tournament unfolds, it could once again be a new high-water mark for women's sports, as new standards are set for ratings and more pressure is placed on the game's superstars. .
The rise of women's NCAA basketball
The growing interest in women's college basketball has become impossible to ignore, driven in large part by the emergence of star players like Clark, Reese, University of Southern California freshman guard JuJu Watkins, and University of Utah senior forward Alyssa Pirri. ing.
The 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament averaged 6.5 million viewers for the final four games and 9.9 million viewers for the championship game. By comparison, the average U.S. audience for the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup was 2.6 million, 4.6 million in 2022 and 2.5 million in 2021.
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
By comparison, NCAA men's basketball has experienced a decline over the years due to its relationship with the NBA Draft. Starting in 2006, NBA picks must be 19 years old and at least one year out of high school to be eligible for the draft. Prior to 2006, players were eligible to enter the draft directly out of high school.
The reason players can enter the NBA at age 18 is because of a 1967 Supreme Court ruling that signed University of Detroit forward Spencer Haywood to an NBA contract, despite the league's rule that players cannot be drafted until four years after graduating from high school. It was a privilege granted only after being recognized.
As author Chuck Klosterman said in an interview, players used to attend school for three or four years, and spectators could watch the players develop and become fans. Currently, players in the NBA are drafted after spending only a few months on college campuses, leading to a decline in interest in men's college basketball.
This sense of disconnect may have drawn larger crowds to women's college games, allowing fans to develop longer-term relationships with players and witnessing fierce rivalries between teams with greater continuity of talent. It can be done.
The changing world of women's basketball
Described as a “transformational talent” and “a supernova who will take women's basketball to new heights” and sparking the so-called “Caitlin Clark Effect,” Clark is now a household name across North America.
Her impact is a powerful and positive experience that breaks down traditional gender marginalization and stereotypes in college sports. Clark's accomplishments directly challenge the stereotype that female athletes are less athletic than their male counterparts.
This is a harmful and historical metaphor for many reasons, one of which is the effort to break down the patriarchal walls that have oppressed women as inferior athletes and traditionally disenfranchised women's athletics as a whole. is to ruin it.
In her role as a student-athlete ambassador, Clark is also able to disrupt traditional views of femininity in sports. Her identity as a white woman and her wealth are also very important to her.
Because whiteness remains privileged and treated as a normative identity in college athletics across America, Clark disrupts traditional ideas about femininity in a way that non-white athletes cannot. We are in a good position to do so.
The richness of women's sports
The lucrative landscape surrounding NIL (name, image, likeness) regulations means that the stars of the NCAA women's basketball stands can earn far more than previous generations of female players. NIL rules allow players to monetize their name, image and likeness through sponsorships and other activities.
There has been speculation that Clark will declare for the WNBA's 2024 season, where she is being touted as the No. 1 overall draft pick. Clark's 11 NIL contracts are reportedly worth a total of $3 million, a figure in stark contrast to the typical rookie salary of $100,000 for a top first-round pick in the WNBA.
(AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
But this opportunity has the potential to add even more pressure to those carrying the flag for women's basketball. This is new and uncharted territory for female college athletes, and it foreshadows potential tension for athletes who eventually make the transition to professional basketball.
A younger generation of star players may enter the WNBA having amassed more wealth during their college years than some longtime WNBA players have ever amassed.
Clark, Reese and a new generation of college superstars are now tasked not only with juggling their positions in an unfair sports market, but also with ushering in a new era of wealth in women's sports. there is.
There is a saying that a head with a crown is heavy, and Clark seems to deftly bear that weight. However, when a new generation of athletes transitions from the college game that has contributed to the growth of the university to the professional game, there is a question of what weight is appropriate for that athlete, no matter how old and famous he is. It is important to consider.
