Caitlin Clark: Record Breaking Athlete, Bane of Twitter Users’ Existence

Senior basketball player from University of Iowa, Caitlin Clark, has recently set the record for the most points scored by any NCAA Division I basketball player. This title was previously owned by Pete Maravich, who played for Louisiana State University from 1967 to 1970, and Maravich held this title for 54 years. Clark’s new record is so impressive as Maravich held this title for over 50 years before being out-scored, and Clark is now in a powerful position as a female athlete holding this record. This new record is a big step for all women in sports, and many female fans have been inspired by the ability of Caitlin Clark. While this accomplishment is such a big step for female athletics, many people have divided opinions on Caitlin Clark’s new record.

While taking steps towards breaking Maravich’s record, Clark also beat Kelsey Plum’s record for highest scoring female NCAA basketball player. Sheryl Swoopes, former WNBA basketball player, made a comment criticizing Clark, stating that:

“If Kelsey Plum set that record in four years, well, Caitlin should’ve broke that record in four years,” Swoopes said. “But because there’s a COVID year, and then there’s another year, you know what I mean? So she’s already had an extra year to break that record. So, is it truly a broken record? I don’t know. I don’t think so. But yeah, that’ll go in the record books. And, I don’t think it should be.”

Swoopes also made a remark minimizing Clark’s accomplishment, commenting on the number of shots that Clark makes in a singular game, implying that she isn’t an accurate shooter, but that she just shoots often enough to eventually add up a record breaking number of points. These comments minimize the accomplishments of Caitlin Clark as they criticize how well she can play, and considering that these comments were made by a fellow female athlete, they truly made a negative impact. Critics have been making various negative comments about Clark’s performance, and there comes a point where we need to consider: are these comments about Clark’s ability, or Clark’s gender in the athletic scene?

Mixed reviews have swarmed Clark’s performance, and comments vary from calling her “overrated” and “overhyped”, to sharing that she is an amazing player. I looked into some commentary surrounding Caitlin Clark’s recent performances on Twitter, here's what some of these comments have in common.

After searching for some time, I was only really able to find comments about the female star made by men hiding behind a screen. While some men did make positive remarks, the majority of what I found consisted of men forming unreliable lists of individuals that they think could beat Clark, or arguments that shared why Clark really isn’t all that in their opinion. If we take another look, we can see that while some women shared that they have been inspired by Clark, other women are also making negative comments about the basketball player. 

Clark’s stats show just how impressive her career has been, so what’s with all the criticism? This is what it all boils down to: she’s a young woman who beat a record held by a man for half a century. Women’s sports are so often overlooked as a lower scale of men’s sports, and that was made clear in the Tweet that suggests that Clark and Maravich weren’t even playing the same sport. A woman’s athletic ability is often minimized because of her gender, and the longstanding belief that men simply play better. Clark beat an impressive record, but social media continues to downplay this accomplishment because she is a young woman playing a sport that is often associated with men. This social media commentary is especially harmful when we realize how many young women are inspired by Clark; they see the accomplishment, but also the criticism, which is extremely discouraging. This criticism is even more detrimental when it comes from another woman. We are seeing that even some women can’t celebrate the success of another female athlete without criticizing and comparing the record breaking athlete without comparing her to a man.

At the end of the day, no matter how we feel personally about Clark, her statistics in her basketball career show that her success should be celebrated. Regardless of her gender, her accomplishment is extremely impressive. Before we post online, reconsider who will truly be impacted by what is being said. Will it be the basketball player who knows that she should be proud of her accomplishments, or will it be the young girl who found a role model and a reason to pursue her athletic career?