Caitlin Clark was named as the TIME Athlete of the Year after one of the most insane year-long runs in sports history. However, Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson proved ignorant and refuses to accept the role that the No. 1 overall pick played in the meteoric rise of the WNBA.
She believes every player in the league deserved to be on the cover of the magazine because Clark is not the only reason people care about women’s basketball.
That is true! Caitlin Clark is not the only reason that people care. To say otherwise would be silly. On the flip side of that same discussion, for Johnson to claim (with a straight face) that Clark is getting too much attention for the eyeballs she singlehandedly brought to the W is preposterous.
Clark could not have been any more humble about her Athlete of the Year honor. She actually was so complimentary of the other players in the WNBA, especially those of color, that she managed to anger the very people who most loudly supported her during a manufactured race war throughout most of her rookie season. It was an overwhelmingly positive and selfless interview!
Sheryl Swoopes, a well-documented Caitlin Clark hater, was the first person to question TIME’s decision to bestow her with the Athlete of the Year honor. Yawn.
Johnson’s criticism is a fresh face. She is still wrong, but at least it is someone new.
Caitlin Clark’s haters stay hating!
Sheila Johnson is the co-founder of BET and the CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts. The 75-year-old billionaire also owns a large part of the Mystics.
Washington’s home games against the Indiana Fever were moved to a much larger arena because of Clark. None of its other games were moved to fit more fans. Not one.
Even though Clark was the primary draw for her team’s most-attended games of the season, Johnson thinks the Rookie of the Year received too much praise. She was very upset about her self-created narrative during an appearance on CNN.
"We have so much talent out there that has been unrecognized, and I don’t think we can pin it on just one player"
— CNN Sports (@cnnsport) December 13, 2024
Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson speaks to @AmandaDCNN about TIME's decision to name Caitlin Clark "Athlete of the Year": https://t.co/nQL7NXosv7 pic.twitter.com/HjBjf0nlgX
Johnson thinks Angel Reese was just as important to the growth of the WNBA as Clark.
It has taken the WNBA almost 28 years to get to the point where we are now and this year something clicked with the WNBA and it’s because of the draft of the players that came in. It’s just not Caitlin Clark. It’s Reese. We have so much talent out there that has been unrecognized. And I don’t think we can pin it on just one player.
— Sheila Johnson
As you might’ve gathered, race was the foundation of her four-minute-long diatribe.
I want to be very diplomatic about this. It’s just the structure of the way media plays out race. I’m going to be very honest. I feel really bad because I’ve seen so many players of color that are equally as talented and they never got the recognition they should have. And I think that right now it is time for that to happen.
— Sheila Johnson
Johnson cannot comprehend why TIME did not bestow its ‘Athlete of the Year’ honor on the entire league because the players who did not receive that title might’ve had their feelings hurt. And by naming only one single white woman as the ‘Athlete of the Year’ in a very well-rounded and though-out interview, TIME apparently encouraged racism.
So last night TIME Magazine with Caitlin Clark is named Athlete of the Year. Why couldn’t they have put the whole WNBA on that cover and said the WNBA is the league of the year? Because of all the talent that we have. Because when we just keep singling out one player it creates hard feelings. And so now you’re starting to hear stories of racism within the WNBA and I don’t want to hear that. We have got to operate and become stronger as a league and respect everybody that’s playing and their talents.
— Sheila Johnson
This latest gripe about Caitlin Clark might be the most ridiculous. Sheila Johnson’s heart might be in a good place. Her stance is admirable. And yet, she is actively choosing to ignore reality.
The WNBA saw monumental growth in 2024 for a lot of different reasons. Clark was the biggest one. Five of the six most-watched games of the year involved the Indiana Fever. Lets be real.