Dan Patrick Rips WNBA Owner For Her Comments On Caitlin Clark
12/18/2024 02:56 PM
Caitlin Clark's impact on the WNBA this season was massive, helping the league grow exponentially in attendance, interest and television ratings. Her impact on the league has been tangible, with all 12 current teams seeing success this season that they've never experienced.
For her efforts, Clark was named TIME Magazine's Athlete of the Year for 2024. Clark put the league in the national spotlight, and became one of its first truly transcendent stars and household names.
Most were happy for Clark to receive that honor, but one WNBA owner took issue with the focus being placed on one player instead of the league as a whole.
"When you just keep singling out one player, it creates hard feelings," said Sheila Johnson, co-owner of the Washington Mystics.
"They would like to get the same kind of recognition. It all started with the whole Nike sponsorship that Caitlin got," she added. "There are other players saying, 'What about us?'"
After Johnson's criticism of the focus on Clark, she received pushback rom those who agreed with the publication's decision to honor the player.
Sports media personality Dan Patrick offered his take on the subject Wednesday, defending Clark and calling out Johnson for her opinion.
"Stop making excuses for Caitlin Clark's greatness"
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) December 17, 2024
-Dan Patrick responds to Sheila Johnson's commentspic.twitter.com/p2hbcwFTco
"If you're TIME's Person of the Year, it's not the 'People of the Year.' Can't we just acknowledge Caitlin Clark changed the WNBA? That's it, it's okay!," Patrick said.
"You want to throw in Angel Reese, you want to throw in the memory of Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper. It's a win! This is a unique moment. Caitlin Clark did for the WNBA what Wayne Gretzky did for the NHL. When Tiger joined the PGA Tour, did we say, 'Oh Time's Man of the Year, we cannot have Tiger on there, we have to have everybody on there?"'
During her profile with TIME, Clark made it clear that she wouldn't have been able to accomplish what she did this season without the women who paved the way before her.
"I want to say I've earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege," she noted.
"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. The more we can elevate Black women, that's going to be a beautiful thing."
We'll see how Clark's second season goes in 2025, and we'll find out if she continues to set herself apart as a star as the league continues to grow in popularity.
Related: Iowa Announces Date It Will Retire Caitlin Clark's Jersey This Season
