Stephen A. Smith Relates To Caitlin Clark’s Situation To Donald Trump And ‘Making America White Again’

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The discourse surrounding Caitlin Clark continues to evolve in surprising and absurd ways, as the 22-year-old WNBA rookie now find herself in the same sentence as 34-time indicted criminal and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Earlier this week, Caitlin Clark was asked how she feels about her name being used to push political narratives and agendas, to which she basically replied that she just wants to play basketball.

“It’s not something I can control, so 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. Like I’ve said, basketball’s my job,” Clark said. “Everything on the outside, I can’t control that, so I’m not gonna spend time thinking about that. People can talk about what they want to talk about and create conversations about whatever it is. But I think for myself, I’m just here to play basketball.”

This response seemed to bother Dijonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun, who took a shot at Clark for her comments on Twitter.

“Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts,” Carrington tweeted. “We all see the s—. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.”

ESPN’s First Take predictably discussed the comparative stances of Clark and Carrington, which led Stephen A. Smith to relate the situation to Donald Trump’s popularity with certain sections of the population and how he believes that “Make America Great Again” really means “Make America White Again.”

“She’s a white young lady and she’s been a magnet that has benefitted the league in ways that others have not, even though their efforts have been worth and deserving of being as celebrated, if not more celebrated,” Smith said, in part, on the Friday, June 14 episode of First Take.

“And it’s a reminder that no matter how far we believe that we have advanced as a society, there’s still such a long way to go, because in the end, if you’re white, you’re bright, you’re right, and as a result, the shine comes your way in the eyes of a lot of people in America,” he continued.

“You have somebody that’s a presidential candidate. What is his claim to fame? Make America Great Again. What have people interpreted that to mean? Make America White Again,” Smith stated.  “What has that led to? A divide. It is not a divide that is created. It is a divide that is illuminated because it’s highlighting and showing that it’s been in existence all along. It hasn’t gone anywhere.”

You can watch Smith’s full comments on the matter below. Clark and the Indiana Fever will be taking on the Chicago Sky on Sunday, June 16, setting her up for a rematch with former-college and now-professional rival Angel Reese.