My Kendo—Japanese fencing—sensei taught that when beaten, the only thing to do was to bow and say: “thank you for teaching me I must be better.” A little of that humility could go a long way toward building the WNBA.
"Children trained in a variety of sports learn the aphorism: “there is no “I” in team.” That they must use their talents while subordinating their egos for the good of their team is relentlessly drilled into them. They quickly learn there are always others bigger, faster, stronger and more talented and if their coaches are people of common sense and integrity, they’re also taught they should appreciate those people because they make the team stronger.
"Coaches also say playing sports is all about building character, about learning to work and play with others, which inevitably takes a backseat to winning.
"That’s why study of Caitlin Clark and the WNBA is such a useful morality tale.
"Prior to Clark, the WNBA was the fringiest of fringe sports. On pain of death, few, if any Americans could name a single player. Now they can name at least one. Almost immediately upon joining the league, she single-handedly raised interest, and revenue, to previously unimagined levels. Suddenly, athletes making a pittance could see a future of increased salaries and perhaps even lucrative endorsement deals. Clark is the tide raising all boats.
"But how could a single athlete do that? In his 1992 movie, Leap of Faith, Steve Martin said you never mess with the genuine article. That’s Caitlin Clark. She has it all. She’s pretty, smart, reads the court like no one else, has every skill required, is relentlessly hard-working, is a born leader, and is genuinely nice. She passes the ball, helps her teammates score and as a guard routinely makes rebounds. People are watching the WNBA in record numbers because she’s the genuine article, and she has made her team a winner." . . .
Maybe Caitlin should start her own league
"As you can see, the girls in the league have decided to declare war on Caitlin Clark, the new kid on the block. Caitlin is not only a great player, but she is also the only reason that people are watching on TV. One would think that these young women want Caitlin to play as many minutes as possible. She fills the arena! Not these girls. It’s all-out war on her, and no one is winning.
Black racism is bigger than basketball
"It’s time to face these actions and behaviors and call them out for what they are—black racism:" . . .
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