Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark are recognized among the best in women’s basketball.
However, former NBA veteran Etan Thomas, the No. 12 pick in the 2000 draft, contrasts how white Americans view the two based on their stark differences in speaking out against racial injustice.
“Perhaps it’s because, unlike Clark, Bueckers has always been outspoken about issues off the court,” Thomas wrote in a Guardian article. “At the 2021 ESPYs, Bueckers was named the college athlete of the year. She used her acceptance speech to celebrate and honor Black women in particular.”
In Bueckers’ famous ESPYs speech, she used her platform to recognize those who didn’t get the same recognition as her, specifically highlighting the Black women who inspired her and shaped the sport.
“While Black America cheered Bueckers, it seemed like mainstream, white America – a demographic that once viewed her as, in her words, a ‘media darling’ – weren’t singing her praises quite as much. And still don’t,” Thomas continued. “Is this a coincidence? Or maybe because her injuries have made people forget her greatness as an athlete? Possibly. But she’s back from injury now, so why aren’t people as focused on Bueckers as they were on Clark last season when she was tearing up college basketball? Maybe if Bueckers had delivered a more vanilla ESPYs speech, things would have been different.”
Thomas even referenced the Angel Reese “villain arc” in the 2023 NCAA women’s championship as an example of white America lauding Clark against a fictional enemy.
“Meanwhile, there has been no Black villain for Bueckers to compete against,” Thomas wrote. “The fact that that has meant she has gained less attention and adoration from middle America says a lot about the state of the country.”
Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Back in the Day NBA. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
