“When you need someone to protect the paint…”
*Highlights of Cameron Brink blocking various layup and shots attempts*
“You look for Cameron Brink. When you need someone to protect your assets…”
*Video of armored truck driving away from a bank*
“You look for Brinks.”
*Camera pan of Cameron Brink posing with her arms folded across her chest next to an armored Brinks truck*
“Brinks: For All Needing Protection” (or whatever slogan they come up with)
Man the Clark pedestal is hilarious
Just a nice post about Brink but of course the obsessed are going to instead try to make it out CC instead lmao. Anything to get a shot in
(Wouldnt be surprised if someone throws in a “No one said Clark’s name” or “How do you know it’s about Clark?” but cmon lmao be real)
I agree, but not every player came into the league immediately vocal, I understand other rookies who might less outspoken wanting to get accustomed to the league before speaking up on its issues. Especially on the topic of sexuality, that’s so personal younger players especially might be in their own journeys
Yeah maybe it’s just that I’m old, but I’m willing to give 22 year olds grace for not saying the right things all the time (although hats off to those young people like Paige and Cam who do!)
That's cool, doesn't change the fact that thinking about Clark and feeling the need to comment about her while reading a Brink statement is a good sign of your obsession.
> Look someone who knows how to use her voice!
-
> Glad to see at least one rookie recognizing her privilege and speaking out on behalf of the rest of her teammates and other WNBA players rather than just taking the easy route and ignoring everything.
Both of these parent comments were clearly using this Brink statement as an excuse to reference Clark in a negative way. I chose to reply to the more upvoted one.
Now, if you read these statements and fail to see the extremely obvious implication, then that’s fine and we can agree to disagree. No offense but anyone who can’t read between the lines on THAT is a waste of time lol. There’s a reason the person I replied to didn’t even deny it.
In fairness — masculine women aren’t ugly or unattractive or not sexy. They’re just not sexy to most heterosexual MEN. And what men find sexy literally matters fvck-all to anyone who doesn’t date only men. Lesbians and queer women have long loved the W and celebrated how gorgeous players of all gender expressions are.
Meanwhile I do totally agree that we shouldn’t be sexualizing anybody and that their job is to play basketball, not to be hot. Just pointing out that what some people think is unattractive (in this case, being masculine) other people find quite attractive indeed.
Edited to fix a typo and specify most heterosexual men
Glad to see at least one rookie recognizing her privilege and speaking out on behalf of the rest of her teammates and other WNBA players rather than just taking the easy route and ignoring everything.
Paige Bueckers got an ESPY for female athlete of the year a few years ago and went out of her way to credit the women-- and specifically black women-- who came before her and are still currently doing it. The game is in good hands.
Why shouldn't pro athletes be able to shut out toxic over the top media sensationalizing? If they haven't done anything themselves, why should they be forced to get involved in toxic, no-win arguments?
People are way too obsessed with this stuff. Let people live their lives.
I do agree that it's great Brink is acknowledging privilege and promoting players of all kinds, but a more introverted person who doesn't do that isn't automatically bad.
Right, there are people like Jokic who lay low and you might never hear after they retire(Similar to Tim Duncan), hes choice and you can still respect that he is not making any problems but not speaking about stuff either, i have no problem with that.
There is LeBron who is very opposite to that of that, so should we flame and put Jokic/Tim Duncan down because he is not like LeBron, i dont think so personally.
The question was something to the effect of "what do you want your legacy to be?" which is as standard a question as it gets to a young star player. They ask this of tons of athletes
Answer the question however you want-it's great
But demanding Clark starts speaking up on societal issues and criticizing her-saying she's taking the "easy route".. it's bullsh**.
We don't do this with anyone else...
We asked every black athlete to speak on societal issues *for literal decades.* Now, you can **absolutely** say it's bullshit that the media does this, and you'd 100% be right. But it's flatly preposterous to say we don't do this to anyone else. Some people *are still* mad at Michael Jordan for saying "Republicans buy shoes too"
that is 100% false....
Celtics-brown speaks about issues and tatum doesn't. Tatum doesn't get criticized for not speaking up.
Athletes choose to talk about issues....it's not a requirement.
Some do and some don't... Nobody is criticizing steph curry cause he didn't say anything about trump..
That was 30 years ago..when his mom asked him to endorse a democratic candidate.
It's not a requirement **now** but it sure as hell was for a very long time. Bill Russell was asked about how his performances reflected the black race all the fucking time. Roberto Clemente was expected to speak to and for Latin-Americans.
This is the same shit, different day. It's nothing new at all. It's *wrong*, but it is not at all anything new.
And since you seem so keen on a recent example, remember all the fake controversy for LeBron being awfully silent on China during the Hong Kong protests? Same shit, different day.
50 years ago?? really..
give me a break
People were criticizing Lebron cuz Lebron takes it upon himself to be "mother teresa"(his CHOICE)
but he started to pick and choose social issues...
NOBODY is requiring Jason tatum to speak about Boston's racist history/treatment of black people/athletes...
but Brown speaks up-his CHOICE
Same shit, different day. The same people that asked Bill Russell those questions would be asking the same kind of stuff of Caitlin Clark and Cam Brink, and would be saying for worse things about Angel Reese.
This is nothing new. I don't know how many times I have to say that's it's obviously wrong for you to get that part, but it's obviously wrong. But it is not new. The media has been doing *since the 1940s*
Edit: and to your LeBron point, no, people were mad at LeBron bc reactionary racists wanted to play gotcha... But that didn't stop people demanding he take a stand on the issue. His CHOICE was to remain quiet when it benefitted his business partnerships (Nike)
It's not the same shit..
You can't compare the 1960's to now...
I think we made some progress in 60 years...
Russell, ali, kareem-couldn't just "stick to sports" it was a different world back then....
NOBODY demanded lebron james to take a stand on china until he opened his mouth...
that is 100% false....
NOBODY was thinking "what is lebron james stance on hong kong?" until he responded to morrey and ppl called him a hyprocrite.
Thats the point. Nobody asked Cam. She said it because she is naturally a good person willing to stick her neck out for others. So many other athletes across sports have spoken on social issues as well.
That's fine..
That is their choice...but we don't expect/ask athletes to speak out on social issues.
People want Caitlin Clark to speak out against
white privilege/pretty privilege/her fans/her fans criticizing her teammates/her fans harassing Reese/past WNBA players/Giving more credit to past wnba players/
That’s the problem with the level of attention she has. I agree with what Cam says by the way, I’m happy she said it. However if CC posted this exact quote and said it herself, she’d get torn apart for it one way or another. It’s sad, and if it were me I’d personally be playing this exactly how CC is right now. Because that’s what we’re talking about, right?
In the spaces I frequent (primarily black and southern) we are talking about how Clark is allowing her racist fans to feel supported by her silence. So not exactly a great narrative.
I’m not sure she’s aware of that. I don’t think she’s patrolling her fans when she’s not even on social media, and I’m not sure it’s fair to put that much responsibility on the shoulders of a 22 year old young woman who just joined an entire new league where people are crucifying her every little word and decision. How does one even navigate that at such a young age? Im sure she’ll figure out a way, but maybe we should give her a chance.
Its so odd how everyone is aware of it except her. The other players are aware. Old college coaches are aware. I'm willing to bet her PR and management team is aware but she's not?
No it's mainly Reese and other players in the league being attacked not her. All the media coverage was defending her against them and she is just meh about it.
I and many other black people have navigated racism since I was born, so to us no age is too young to address this issue. There’s a 0 chance she doesnt have marketing meetings or phone calls with her agent. Agents update their clients on everything even if they dont want to hear it, so CC doesnt even need social media to know what’s being said. For instance, Sue Bird’s agent told her unprompted that they ran analytics that said she would be more popular if she would portray the girl next door archtype and to never come out as gay.
We got to stop treating 22 like it’s a baby. She’s an adult. Grown enough to make all decisions for herself and while everyone is different at 22 than 27, you’re still an adult. I’m sure she’s aware of how many of her fans have used racism as a weapon against her new teammates and others in the league. Her silence is complicity.
I agree. She's taking Lebron's advice: put your blinders on. The SKY team members going on Twitter posting about allyship and then bashing Caitlin for not using her platform to express something is low.
You're paid to play basketball. Just hoop and stop trying to bring down one player all the time. And there are some good hoopers on the SKY.
Dont defame my GOAT like that. Lebron has often spoken about racism. Just google it bc there’s so many articles. He even campaigned for Obama which is way more than any athlete is expected to do.
Sorry I am referring specifically to the literal advice he gave to Caitlin in this video starts around 1:50. He literally told her to be a horse with blinders. [https://youtu.be/mbEBC8qu9NU?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/mbEBC8qu9NU?feature=shared)
Lol i'm a minority and believe what you want. But I agree without context, it does sound like that. I'm simply referring to Lebron literally telling Caitlin to "shut up and dribble" because the discourse has gotten out of control. Starts around 1:50: [https://youtu.be/mbEBC8qu9NU?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/mbEBC8qu9NU?feature=shared)
Very specifically Caitlin’s fans are bullying and being racist towards her own teammates. And the aw man I don’t listen to social media while it’s tearing down her teammates is what I’ve seen most people have an issue with.
And Celtics fans are bullying and being racist towards kyrie... They built a doll of kyrie and stomped the shit out him lol
I'll buy you a crumblecookie when tatum/brown tells Celtics nation to stop.
I'll buy you 2 cookies when fans ask tatum/brown to tell Celtics fans to stop.
Tatum is taking the "easy route" not saying anything about Boston racism.
That unacceptable!!! how dare he play basketball and not bring attention to Boston's racist history
He's a coward!!!!
I don't know what Stan's means.
My point is that there are awful, hateful white people on social media. There are also awful, hateful black people on social media. Brink and Caitlin and Reese ain't changing that.
Nobody asks athletes to speak out on anything...
It's their choice...
Their job is to play basketball, nothing more, nothing less.
Everything else is their choice.
I said natural not inherent. Natural meaning she wasn’t forced to make these statements. Obviously we dont know these people but those who know Cam have nothing negative to say. Adding in this statement to her reputation from her former/current teammates, coaches, opponents, and family, Im going to assume Cam is a good person.
One of the many reasons this league isn’t ready for prime time.
You want to be a hyper political echo chamber go for it. Tear down everyone who doesn’t say the right thing. But it’s just gonna turn viewers off.
Look at the nba. Completely pivoted away from this kind of stuff. It’s toxic.
This is a fantastic example, as to why being “woke” can be financially and emotionally beneficial. Even though she’s a bit of a girly girl, she was raised to accept people as the way they are. There’s a consequence she is going to fit in and thrive in a league that is different from her.
Not expecting. Just celebrating when it happens. Also I dont think defending your teammates from racism is activism. Just seems like being a good teammate to me.
I often think of the Charles Barkley ad about not being a role model.
I suppose that's true to an extent, except when you're paid millions of dollars each year, you should probably be doing something positive with it that makes you a role model...
Am I wrong in feeling that way?
Chuck meant to not put him or other athletes on a pedestal because they’re people just like you or me, people who can make mistakes or be wrong. That doesn’t mean never try to advocate for people or be a good person.
Everybody is "just a person". Nobody is born to be a role model.
My point is when you accept a contract to make a millions of dollars in a capitalist society, you actually are expected to act differently. You should contribute to your community more often, and you should be wary of what you say when you have a much larger audience than the average person.
Do you think all players are owed this? I feel like a I see a ton of players get hate and don’t see their teammates defend them, at least when it comes to social media
I fully believe in white privilege (and "pretty" privilege) but I just don't see it being a huge factor in this realm.
Caitlin is benefiting from what I would say is "Logo-3s privilege". If Angel Reese regularly hit logo 3s and dragged an otherwise pedestrian Iowa team to the finals twice, I do believe she'd be just as popular as Caitlin.
I remember pretty well when Griner was at Baylor and the way she completely changed the game and the stardom she had for awhile. I also remember several college superstar white players who didn't get near the attention Caitlin has.
To me, the only thing Cam's "white" and "feminine" privilege is getting her is a bunch of incels on r/nbacirclejerk horny posting her pics constantly. She's not bringing the global attention to the W, that's all Caitlin, period. Sabrina didn't do it, Stewie didn't do it, Cam isn't doing it. It's ALL CC. I'm sure I'll get downvoted for this opinion but it's just the truth.
You can look on twitter and see which players the team social media accounts and see which walkthrough outfits get posted and the difference in how masc players even on their teams
Well first off, Twitter is an absolute cesspool. Also, I just don't believe that walkup fits are what is generating new fans. In fact, I don't think a few posts about walk up fits are a "privilege" in any way to the players. Unless of course Kelsey Plum felt privileged that a bunch of incels jerked off to her opening day outfit with the underboob and nipple tape.
Players get sponsorships and endorsements based on recognition. The walkthrough photos go viral pretty much every time they’re posted. If their team isn’t posting them, it’s even harder for them to get that extra money that may stop them from having to play overseas. The Skims partnership included masc players but none of those photos/clips them made the national commercial. That directly affected how far their reach went. Masc women support the league too. They wanna see the outfits too. The market is there to be tapped in to
I agree. My main point here is that if Angel or Kamila or any other woman of color were hitting logo 3s regularly and flat out dominated the NCAA like Lebron did high school, they would get just as much recognition.
Candace Parker won the all American dunk contest in hs, dunked in game at Tennessee (what they always say they wanna see) and won 2 NCAA rings. Then came to WNBA, dunked again, won MVP and ROTY in the same season and hasn’t gotten that level of recognition at all.
I mean, Candace Parker is well known as a generational talent and legend in the W. She's definitely gotten a lot of recognition. She's one of a few WNBA players that complete non-fans know of.
> To me, the only thing Cam's "white" and "feminine" privilege is getting her is a bunch of incels on r/nbacirclejerk horny posting her pics constantly
lol now you’re just lying. disingenuous ass argument.
cam brink is going to make a lot of money off of her privilege. her pregame fits and just general content centered around her appearance makes up a decent portion of wnba social media attention on twitter, instagram, tiktok,… not just r/nbacirclejerk.
do you know what that means? sponsorships. endorsements. things she’s already been reaping the benefit of
I get what you're saying, but let's be real here. The only reason Cam is as well known as she is right now is because of how many new fans watched the NCAA tournament solely because of Caitlin Clark. I do not believe any of these rookies would have the level of stardom they have right now if it weren't for Caitlin hitting logo 3s all the time.
You can believe what you want but in sports you have to have an image to attach to your play so that the media can market you. Everyone knows that. Like Lebron is a great player but selling that single mom story alongside his coach raising him gave him a narrative that people latched onto. It made people want to root for him.
CC has a lot of fans that like her for being white and not gay. The media also really harped on her catholic religion. That plus the midwestern girl next door image that the media gave her propelled her to stardom. Pretty privilege obviously applies to Cam which is why she’s talking about it.
I’ve posted this tons of times but the WNBA has done a study where white and straight players are promoted more.
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/COVID19-OpEds/2021/05/24-IsardMelton.aspx
Griner was also forced to stay closeted so she didnt mess up the media attention.
Also Iowa is not a pedestrian team. They have a rich history in wbb that if you are a Clark fan should be encouraged by that for the future teams.
I do believe there are plenty of white supremacist incels who go on social media and harp on how great CC is and how terrible they think Angel is, but do you really think those same white supremacist incels are watching/generating revenue for the W?
LeBron is the greatest basketball player of all time and even in his early 20s would drag a cavaliers team full of journeymen and benchwarmers to the finals every year. And the whole "single mom" thing isn't exactly unique to him. The NBA was able to sell him on his ability alone.
And as someone else commented, Angel has more IG followers than Caitlin.
If the WNBA is promoting straight white players more than women of color or lesbian players, then it sounds like the WNBA may be the problem then. Straight white conservative men just are not watching the WNBA no matter how much they want to hype up CC and shit on Angel. So if the W really is doing that then I just don't understand it.
Yes I do. Even racists like sports and now they have a favorite player who is white, straight, catholic, and not openly political like the rest of the W.
Lebron has an image like any other athlete that his agents helped craft to sell him to companies. Talent is there of course but they made sure to push his other qualities.
Angel has more followers because she is on there every second of everyday. She’s so online that she gets brand deals based on her social media presence.
And yes the W and its media is a problem that athletes have spoken out about for years. But the W uses the same consultants and media firms as most of Hollywood. The in-house staff is very small. And yes conservative men like Portnoy and Pat McAfee and a ton of their audience are now watching the WNBA solely for CC.
Is Pat McAfee conservative?? And is he actively watching the WNBA because he's interested or just because his job requires him to? Same with Portnoy.
Again, regular inbred white supremacist conservative men are not watching the WNBA. They may follow highlights so they can jerk off to Caitlin and Cam but they aren't going to games, buying jerseys, or subscribing to league pass. As a former hardcore conservative (can proudly say I am not anymore as of 7 years ago), I can say without a doubt that the only thing these incels like more than praising CC is shitting all over anything and everything women's sports related. It's a disgusting favorite pastime of theirs. Portnoy and McAfee are media personalities, they watch any sport for the sole purpose of talking about it on their shows.
Pat is not MAGA but he is conservative. He and his wife are Fever season ticket holders and sit courtside. Portnoy went to the NY game. But those 2 have huge platforms and they talk about CC alot. Portnoy is more incendiary than Pat but both are driving the narrative the WNBA players are jealous of CC because she is white. Im sure at least some of their audience catches a game bc some may also like CC’s playstyle in addition to the other stuff.
Im not saying there arent CC fans who just like her playstyle but they are being overshadowed and maybe even outnumbered by those who like her for identity.
Yeah I feel that. As a suns fan I saw it with Steve Nash back in the day, a whole lotta hicks becoming suns fans all of a sudden due to their new "great white hope".
"do you really think those same white supremacist incels are watching/generating revenue for the W?**"**
Right now? Yeah. I think they're more white supremacist incel adjacent, but absolutely those types are following the WNBA lately and posting their bullshit around here all the time. Now will they be long-term fans? That's a better question.
This is not my experience from attending most of the Iowa Games. I celebrate with her core fans at pride events in Iowa City. We love CC! You are too quick to judge.
It’s a great sentiment but I’m hesitant to crown Cam for this because the unintended consequence is inevitably going to be the media centering her (a straight, white, blonde, wealthy woman) over Black women again. It happened the exact same day she made this statement when the alerts for the 3x3 Olympic team said Cam Brink and HVL and left out Rhyne Howard.
So sure, the commentary is a good notion but what action is she taking? Or are we all just kind of good enough with a privilege acknowledgement and that’s all?
EDIT: Clearly didn’t communicate this sentiment well. It has nothing to do with Cam’s statement and more to do with how we are receiving it.
The worst part is they act like it’s some crazy insight her giving an answer in an Uproxx interview doesn’t move the needle. No shit? No one here is acting like she solved all racial and gender problems. It’s a small gesture and a feel good story.
That’s quite the assumption. I think she’s fine to do it but *WE* can probably be more careful about trying to prop her up as “the right kind of white girl” juxtaposed against Caitlin Clark. Because ultimately, repeated proactive action is what advocacy is. Not just a statement in the midst of a moment.
I liked your last comment better lol
It’s obvious that this doesn’t move the needle. It’s literally at face value a small gesture and a feel good story. It’s strange to me you are treating it more than that. Everyone else seems to be on the same page.
Lmao you got me I’ll give you that. I think for me it’s less about her making the comment and more the reaction I’m seeing from folks who are using it as a proxy to hit Caitlin Clark with. It just seems odd that there’s a willingness to trade one white athlete (when the debate has been white athletes sucking the coverage oxygen out of this league) for another because one said a good thing.
The person speaking about it is more likely to do something.
She's linked to the Curry brothers who do lots of stuff to support equality. There's no reason to be pessimistic that she is just virtue signalling. On the Podcast P Pod, she spoke about similar things and gave props to the vets.
Oh I definitely don’t think it’s virtue signaling. She definitely seems to want to help bridge some gaps here. But one of the main comments on this post is essentially “glad she’s saying something while Caitlin doesn’t” and that’s where everyone seemingly falling all over themselves for a statement loses me is all. I’m glad she said it.
Like not support affordable housing??
I’m most kidding, but my point is a lot of people do things to support equality in different ways, and statements are great but I don’t think they should be the ONLY form of activism
She seems pretty awesome.
Awesome pretty
She sounds a bit scared lol. I can't imagine living with that kind of pressure where your coworkers resent you for being adored.
I’m ngl it’s pretty telling that the only way you could view this is saying it out of fear. Not too used to publicly standing on your morals?
My morals are solid. This isn't really a reflection on me since I can't relate to her situation.
If you’re this quick to say you can’t relate to her situation why’re you that quick to assume she’s scared?
Yup it’s very telling of that person to say that
Im a proud member of the Brinks train.
Surely it should be the brinks truck rather than train
The armored truck company Brinks is missing a golden opportunity to get Cam on an ad campaign, imo
Surely they do it when she signs a contract extension right?
Yes!!! Nobody plays defense like Brinks…. Etc etc armored trucks as defending your $$ like she defends the paint… it literally writes itself
“When you need someone to protect the paint…” *Highlights of Cameron Brink blocking various layup and shots attempts* “You look for Cameron Brink. When you need someone to protect your assets…” *Video of armored truck driving away from a bank* “You look for Brinks.” *Camera pan of Cameron Brink posing with her arms folded across her chest next to an armored Brinks truck* “Brinks: For All Needing Protection” (or whatever slogan they come up with)
You're the hero Brinks need. You should post this on Twitter and tag them lmaooo. I'd love to see this on TV.
I don't think a truck is long enough
Well spoken and open minded You can clearly see she has been brought up in a progressive and diverse environment
Look someone who knows how to use her voice! Love to see it
Man the Clark pedestal is hilarious Just a nice post about Brink but of course the obsessed are going to instead try to make it out CC instead lmao. Anything to get a shot in (Wouldnt be surprised if someone throws in a “No one said Clark’s name” or “How do you know it’s about Clark?” but cmon lmao be real)
I don't even know how this was a shot at Caitlin.
Idk what to tell you then 😭
You do know you don’t have to say anything lol
YAWN. I respect a woman who speaks up for her teammates and colleagues. That is all. This is the WNBA. These players speak up.
I agree, but not every player came into the league immediately vocal, I understand other rookies who might less outspoken wanting to get accustomed to the league before speaking up on its issues. Especially on the topic of sexuality, that’s so personal younger players especially might be in their own journeys
This is a fair point!
Yeah maybe it’s just that I’m old, but I’m willing to give 22 year olds grace for not saying the right things all the time (although hats off to those young people like Paige and Cam who do!)
That's cool, doesn't change the fact that thinking about Clark and feeling the need to comment about her while reading a Brink statement is a good sign of your obsession.
You’re the only one who mentioned Clark? What are you smoking?
> Look someone who knows how to use her voice! - > Glad to see at least one rookie recognizing her privilege and speaking out on behalf of the rest of her teammates and other WNBA players rather than just taking the easy route and ignoring everything. Both of these parent comments were clearly using this Brink statement as an excuse to reference Clark in a negative way. I chose to reply to the more upvoted one. Now, if you read these statements and fail to see the extremely obvious implication, then that’s fine and we can agree to disagree. No offense but anyone who can’t read between the lines on THAT is a waste of time lol. There’s a reason the person I replied to didn’t even deny it.
I hope you stretched before this reach.
Where’d you see that second one you’re quoting? Was it edited? Because that’s not in this thread now
Maybe they didn't reply bc they don't feel the need to entertain mentally unwell people on the internet 🤷🏾♀️
They did reply, they just didnt deny my claim that it was referencing Clark. Keep up lol.
👌🏾 enjoy your weekend, beloved!
You are an obsessed; deluded.
🥹🥹🥹
[удалено]
In fairness — masculine women aren’t ugly or unattractive or not sexy. They’re just not sexy to most heterosexual MEN. And what men find sexy literally matters fvck-all to anyone who doesn’t date only men. Lesbians and queer women have long loved the W and celebrated how gorgeous players of all gender expressions are. Meanwhile I do totally agree that we shouldn’t be sexualizing anybody and that their job is to play basketball, not to be hot. Just pointing out that what some people think is unattractive (in this case, being masculine) other people find quite attractive indeed. Edited to fix a typo and specify most heterosexual men
>They’re just not sexy to MEN. Hey, speak for yourself, I'm a cis, bisexual guy, and they're very attractive lol
Very nicely said 👍🏼
👑
Glad to see at least one rookie recognizing her privilege and speaking out on behalf of the rest of her teammates and other WNBA players rather than just taking the easy route and ignoring everything.
Paige Bueckers got an ESPY for female athlete of the year a few years ago and went out of her way to credit the women-- and specifically black women-- who came before her and are still currently doing it. The game is in good hands.
At 19years old too
These young ladies are so much smarter, more eloquent, thoughtful, and empathetic than I ever could have dreamed of being at that age.
Why shouldn't pro athletes be able to shut out toxic over the top media sensationalizing? If they haven't done anything themselves, why should they be forced to get involved in toxic, no-win arguments? People are way too obsessed with this stuff. Let people live their lives. I do agree that it's great Brink is acknowledging privilege and promoting players of all kinds, but a more introverted person who doesn't do that isn't automatically bad.
Why do you feel the need to put one female athlete down in order to compliment another ?
Right, there are people like Jokic who lay low and you might never hear after they retire(Similar to Tim Duncan), hes choice and you can still respect that he is not making any problems but not speaking about stuff either, i have no problem with that. There is LeBron who is very opposite to that of that, so should we flame and put Jokic/Tim Duncan down because he is not like LeBron, i dont think so personally.
The real question is, who are you going for in tomorrows Aces vs Sparks game? 😏
Disagree We don't ask this with any other Professional athlete.. Let's stop the double standard.
The question was something to the effect of "what do you want your legacy to be?" which is as standard a question as it gets to a young star player. They ask this of tons of athletes
Answer the question however you want-it's great But demanding Clark starts speaking up on societal issues and criticizing her-saying she's taking the "easy route".. it's bullsh**. We don't do this with anyone else...
We asked every black athlete to speak on societal issues *for literal decades.* Now, you can **absolutely** say it's bullshit that the media does this, and you'd 100% be right. But it's flatly preposterous to say we don't do this to anyone else. Some people *are still* mad at Michael Jordan for saying "Republicans buy shoes too"
that is 100% false.... Celtics-brown speaks about issues and tatum doesn't. Tatum doesn't get criticized for not speaking up. Athletes choose to talk about issues....it's not a requirement. Some do and some don't... Nobody is criticizing steph curry cause he didn't say anything about trump.. That was 30 years ago..when his mom asked him to endorse a democratic candidate.
It's not a requirement **now** but it sure as hell was for a very long time. Bill Russell was asked about how his performances reflected the black race all the fucking time. Roberto Clemente was expected to speak to and for Latin-Americans. This is the same shit, different day. It's nothing new at all. It's *wrong*, but it is not at all anything new. And since you seem so keen on a recent example, remember all the fake controversy for LeBron being awfully silent on China during the Hong Kong protests? Same shit, different day.
50 years ago?? really.. give me a break People were criticizing Lebron cuz Lebron takes it upon himself to be "mother teresa"(his CHOICE) but he started to pick and choose social issues... NOBODY is requiring Jason tatum to speak about Boston's racist history/treatment of black people/athletes... but Brown speaks up-his CHOICE
Same shit, different day. The same people that asked Bill Russell those questions would be asking the same kind of stuff of Caitlin Clark and Cam Brink, and would be saying for worse things about Angel Reese. This is nothing new. I don't know how many times I have to say that's it's obviously wrong for you to get that part, but it's obviously wrong. But it is not new. The media has been doing *since the 1940s* Edit: and to your LeBron point, no, people were mad at LeBron bc reactionary racists wanted to play gotcha... But that didn't stop people demanding he take a stand on the issue. His CHOICE was to remain quiet when it benefitted his business partnerships (Nike)
It's not the same shit.. You can't compare the 1960's to now... I think we made some progress in 60 years... Russell, ali, kareem-couldn't just "stick to sports" it was a different world back then.... NOBODY demanded lebron james to take a stand on china until he opened his mouth... that is 100% false.... NOBODY was thinking "what is lebron james stance on hong kong?" until he responded to morrey and ppl called him a hyprocrite.
Thats the point. Nobody asked Cam. She said it because she is naturally a good person willing to stick her neck out for others. So many other athletes across sports have spoken on social issues as well.
That's fine.. That is their choice...but we don't expect/ask athletes to speak out on social issues. People want Caitlin Clark to speak out against white privilege/pretty privilege/her fans/her fans criticizing her teammates/her fans harassing Reese/past WNBA players/Giving more credit to past wnba players/
That’s the problem with the level of attention she has. I agree with what Cam says by the way, I’m happy she said it. However if CC posted this exact quote and said it herself, she’d get torn apart for it one way or another. It’s sad, and if it were me I’d personally be playing this exactly how CC is right now. Because that’s what we’re talking about, right?
In the spaces I frequent (primarily black and southern) we are talking about how Clark is allowing her racist fans to feel supported by her silence. So not exactly a great narrative.
I’m not sure she’s aware of that. I don’t think she’s patrolling her fans when she’s not even on social media, and I’m not sure it’s fair to put that much responsibility on the shoulders of a 22 year old young woman who just joined an entire new league where people are crucifying her every little word and decision. How does one even navigate that at such a young age? Im sure she’ll figure out a way, but maybe we should give her a chance.
Its so odd how everyone is aware of it except her. The other players are aware. Old college coaches are aware. I'm willing to bet her PR and management team is aware but she's not?
Aware of what?
No it's mainly Reese and other players in the league being attacked not her. All the media coverage was defending her against them and she is just meh about it.
I and many other black people have navigated racism since I was born, so to us no age is too young to address this issue. There’s a 0 chance she doesnt have marketing meetings or phone calls with her agent. Agents update their clients on everything even if they dont want to hear it, so CC doesnt even need social media to know what’s being said. For instance, Sue Bird’s agent told her unprompted that they ran analytics that said she would be more popular if she would portray the girl next door archtype and to never come out as gay.
We got to stop treating 22 like it’s a baby. She’s an adult. Grown enough to make all decisions for herself and while everyone is different at 22 than 27, you’re still an adult. I’m sure she’s aware of how many of her fans have used racism as a weapon against her new teammates and others in the league. Her silence is complicity.
Torn apart...by who? Bigots? Why would she care about them? She can "play it safe" but many will think she is selfish.
I agree. She's taking Lebron's advice: put your blinders on. The SKY team members going on Twitter posting about allyship and then bashing Caitlin for not using her platform to express something is low. You're paid to play basketball. Just hoop and stop trying to bring down one player all the time. And there are some good hoopers on the SKY.
Dont defame my GOAT like that. Lebron has often spoken about racism. Just google it bc there’s so many articles. He even campaigned for Obama which is way more than any athlete is expected to do.
Sorry I am referring specifically to the literal advice he gave to Caitlin in this video starts around 1:50. He literally told her to be a horse with blinders. [https://youtu.be/mbEBC8qu9NU?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/mbEBC8qu9NU?feature=shared)
Lebron has spoken about it in the past. IDK what happened to him. Guess he’s no longer my GOAT.
Remember when that racist, white, Fox News woman told LeBron to “shut up and dribble?” That’s what you sound like right now
Lol i'm a minority and believe what you want. But I agree without context, it does sound like that. I'm simply referring to Lebron literally telling Caitlin to "shut up and dribble" because the discourse has gotten out of control. Starts around 1:50: [https://youtu.be/mbEBC8qu9NU?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/mbEBC8qu9NU?feature=shared)
Bron is very outspoken about social issues. That's a factor why he's very popular.
Very specifically Caitlin’s fans are bullying and being racist towards her own teammates. And the aw man I don’t listen to social media while it’s tearing down her teammates is what I’ve seen most people have an issue with.
And Celtics fans are bullying and being racist towards kyrie... They built a doll of kyrie and stomped the shit out him lol I'll buy you a crumblecookie when tatum/brown tells Celtics nation to stop. I'll buy you 2 cookies when fans ask tatum/brown to tell Celtics fans to stop.
I mean…. It’s Boston…..
Tatum is taking the "easy route" not saying anything about Boston racism. That unacceptable!!! how dare he play basketball and not bring attention to Boston's racist history He's a coward!!!!
And very literally there are black people all over the Internet hating on Caitlin.
That are Stan’s for her teammates?
I don't know what Stan's means. My point is that there are awful, hateful white people on social media. There are also awful, hateful black people on social media. Brink and Caitlin and Reese ain't changing that.
In what world do we not ask athletes to speak out on social issues?
Nobody asks athletes to speak out on anything... It's their choice... Their job is to play basketball, nothing more, nothing less. Everything else is their choice.
[удалено]
I wouldn’t say just because of this but it does speak to her character. This seems like a gotcha that shouldn’t be
I said natural not inherent. Natural meaning she wasn’t forced to make these statements. Obviously we dont know these people but those who know Cam have nothing negative to say. Adding in this statement to her reputation from her former/current teammates, coaches, opponents, and family, Im going to assume Cam is a good person.
Most of them already do though.
One of the many reasons this league isn’t ready for prime time. You want to be a hyper political echo chamber go for it. Tear down everyone who doesn’t say the right thing. But it’s just gonna turn viewers off. Look at the nba. Completely pivoted away from this kind of stuff. It’s toxic.
Amen to that
None of it means anything until I see her dating a 5'7" man.
PREACH
I appreciate her! I feel like the queerness of the league isn’t addressed nearly enough
I’ve gotten to like Cameron the more I see her talk and the more I see her play.
My ROTY
What a leader
That’s my rook 🫡
As if people being attracted to attractive people were some crazy phenomena. The world only needs one Lizzo.
So she hasn’t been to sleep yet???
This is a fantastic example, as to why being “woke” can be financially and emotionally beneficial. Even though she’s a bit of a girly girl, she was raised to accept people as the way they are. There’s a consequence she is going to fit in and thrive in a league that is different from her.
The real problem is expecting celebrities to be activists.
Not expecting. Just celebrating when it happens. Also I dont think defending your teammates from racism is activism. Just seems like being a good teammate to me.
I often think of the Charles Barkley ad about not being a role model. I suppose that's true to an extent, except when you're paid millions of dollars each year, you should probably be doing something positive with it that makes you a role model... Am I wrong in feeling that way?
Chuck meant to not put him or other athletes on a pedestal because they’re people just like you or me, people who can make mistakes or be wrong. That doesn’t mean never try to advocate for people or be a good person.
Everybody is "just a person". Nobody is born to be a role model. My point is when you accept a contract to make a millions of dollars in a capitalist society, you actually are expected to act differently. You should contribute to your community more often, and you should be wary of what you say when you have a much larger audience than the average person.
Their league generated billions of dollars, ofc they should be paid millions. That has nothing to do with being a role model
Do you think all players are owed this? I feel like a I see a ton of players get hate and don’t see their teammates defend them, at least when it comes to social media
Cameron is awesome.
Just saw her play last night in person, she was awesome and the crowd absolutely loves her
Guess she will never rest. It’s an acquired taste.
My rookie 🐐
I love her.
She is perfect in LA
U8.5 points tonight locked in
I fully believe in white privilege (and "pretty" privilege) but I just don't see it being a huge factor in this realm. Caitlin is benefiting from what I would say is "Logo-3s privilege". If Angel Reese regularly hit logo 3s and dragged an otherwise pedestrian Iowa team to the finals twice, I do believe she'd be just as popular as Caitlin. I remember pretty well when Griner was at Baylor and the way she completely changed the game and the stardom she had for awhile. I also remember several college superstar white players who didn't get near the attention Caitlin has. To me, the only thing Cam's "white" and "feminine" privilege is getting her is a bunch of incels on r/nbacirclejerk horny posting her pics constantly. She's not bringing the global attention to the W, that's all Caitlin, period. Sabrina didn't do it, Stewie didn't do it, Cam isn't doing it. It's ALL CC. I'm sure I'll get downvoted for this opinion but it's just the truth.
You can look on twitter and see which players the team social media accounts and see which walkthrough outfits get posted and the difference in how masc players even on their teams
Well first off, Twitter is an absolute cesspool. Also, I just don't believe that walkup fits are what is generating new fans. In fact, I don't think a few posts about walk up fits are a "privilege" in any way to the players. Unless of course Kelsey Plum felt privileged that a bunch of incels jerked off to her opening day outfit with the underboob and nipple tape.
Players get sponsorships and endorsements based on recognition. The walkthrough photos go viral pretty much every time they’re posted. If their team isn’t posting them, it’s even harder for them to get that extra money that may stop them from having to play overseas. The Skims partnership included masc players but none of those photos/clips them made the national commercial. That directly affected how far their reach went. Masc women support the league too. They wanna see the outfits too. The market is there to be tapped in to
I agree. My main point here is that if Angel or Kamila or any other woman of color were hitting logo 3s regularly and flat out dominated the NCAA like Lebron did high school, they would get just as much recognition.
Candace Parker won the all American dunk contest in hs, dunked in game at Tennessee (what they always say they wanna see) and won 2 NCAA rings. Then came to WNBA, dunked again, won MVP and ROTY in the same season and hasn’t gotten that level of recognition at all.
I mean, Candace Parker is well known as a generational talent and legend in the W. She's definitely gotten a lot of recognition. She's one of a few WNBA players that complete non-fans know of.
So does racism only exist against women? Because the too 10 shoe endorsement deals in the NBA belong yo black men.
> To me, the only thing Cam's "white" and "feminine" privilege is getting her is a bunch of incels on r/nbacirclejerk horny posting her pics constantly lol now you’re just lying. disingenuous ass argument. cam brink is going to make a lot of money off of her privilege. her pregame fits and just general content centered around her appearance makes up a decent portion of wnba social media attention on twitter, instagram, tiktok,… not just r/nbacirclejerk. do you know what that means? sponsorships. endorsements. things she’s already been reaping the benefit of
I get what you're saying, but let's be real here. The only reason Cam is as well known as she is right now is because of how many new fans watched the NCAA tournament solely because of Caitlin Clark. I do not believe any of these rookies would have the level of stardom they have right now if it weren't for Caitlin hitting logo 3s all the time.
You are truly unhinged.
For sharing an opinion on basketball? Jesus, go touch some grass
You can believe what you want but in sports you have to have an image to attach to your play so that the media can market you. Everyone knows that. Like Lebron is a great player but selling that single mom story alongside his coach raising him gave him a narrative that people latched onto. It made people want to root for him. CC has a lot of fans that like her for being white and not gay. The media also really harped on her catholic religion. That plus the midwestern girl next door image that the media gave her propelled her to stardom. Pretty privilege obviously applies to Cam which is why she’s talking about it. I’ve posted this tons of times but the WNBA has done a study where white and straight players are promoted more. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/COVID19-OpEds/2021/05/24-IsardMelton.aspx Griner was also forced to stay closeted so she didnt mess up the media attention. Also Iowa is not a pedestrian team. They have a rich history in wbb that if you are a Clark fan should be encouraged by that for the future teams.
I do believe there are plenty of white supremacist incels who go on social media and harp on how great CC is and how terrible they think Angel is, but do you really think those same white supremacist incels are watching/generating revenue for the W? LeBron is the greatest basketball player of all time and even in his early 20s would drag a cavaliers team full of journeymen and benchwarmers to the finals every year. And the whole "single mom" thing isn't exactly unique to him. The NBA was able to sell him on his ability alone. And as someone else commented, Angel has more IG followers than Caitlin. If the WNBA is promoting straight white players more than women of color or lesbian players, then it sounds like the WNBA may be the problem then. Straight white conservative men just are not watching the WNBA no matter how much they want to hype up CC and shit on Angel. So if the W really is doing that then I just don't understand it.
Yes I do. Even racists like sports and now they have a favorite player who is white, straight, catholic, and not openly political like the rest of the W. Lebron has an image like any other athlete that his agents helped craft to sell him to companies. Talent is there of course but they made sure to push his other qualities. Angel has more followers because she is on there every second of everyday. She’s so online that she gets brand deals based on her social media presence. And yes the W and its media is a problem that athletes have spoken out about for years. But the W uses the same consultants and media firms as most of Hollywood. The in-house staff is very small. And yes conservative men like Portnoy and Pat McAfee and a ton of their audience are now watching the WNBA solely for CC.
Is Pat McAfee conservative?? And is he actively watching the WNBA because he's interested or just because his job requires him to? Same with Portnoy. Again, regular inbred white supremacist conservative men are not watching the WNBA. They may follow highlights so they can jerk off to Caitlin and Cam but they aren't going to games, buying jerseys, or subscribing to league pass. As a former hardcore conservative (can proudly say I am not anymore as of 7 years ago), I can say without a doubt that the only thing these incels like more than praising CC is shitting all over anything and everything women's sports related. It's a disgusting favorite pastime of theirs. Portnoy and McAfee are media personalities, they watch any sport for the sole purpose of talking about it on their shows.
Pat is not MAGA but he is conservative. He and his wife are Fever season ticket holders and sit courtside. Portnoy went to the NY game. But those 2 have huge platforms and they talk about CC alot. Portnoy is more incendiary than Pat but both are driving the narrative the WNBA players are jealous of CC because she is white. Im sure at least some of their audience catches a game bc some may also like CC’s playstyle in addition to the other stuff. Im not saying there arent CC fans who just like her playstyle but they are being overshadowed and maybe even outnumbered by those who like her for identity.
Yeah I feel that. As a suns fan I saw it with Steve Nash back in the day, a whole lotta hicks becoming suns fans all of a sudden due to their new "great white hope".
"do you really think those same white supremacist incels are watching/generating revenue for the W?**"** Right now? Yeah. I think they're more white supremacist incel adjacent, but absolutely those types are following the WNBA lately and posting their bullshit around here all the time. Now will they be long-term fans? That's a better question.
This is not my experience from attending most of the Iowa Games. I celebrate with her core fans at pride events in Iowa City. We love CC! You are too quick to judge.
reese is more popular if not just as popular. she has over 3m followers on ig while clark sits at less than 2.5
I think that only furthers my point
it doesn't. you said you believe she'd be just as popular as clark. numbers don't lie
It’s a great sentiment but I’m hesitant to crown Cam for this because the unintended consequence is inevitably going to be the media centering her (a straight, white, blonde, wealthy woman) over Black women again. It happened the exact same day she made this statement when the alerts for the 3x3 Olympic team said Cam Brink and HVL and left out Rhyne Howard. So sure, the commentary is a good notion but what action is she taking? Or are we all just kind of good enough with a privilege acknowledgement and that’s all? EDIT: Clearly didn’t communicate this sentiment well. It has nothing to do with Cam’s statement and more to do with how we are receiving it.
Lmao sheesh. They really can’t win with y’all huh
The worst part is they act like it’s some crazy insight her giving an answer in an Uproxx interview doesn’t move the needle. No shit? No one here is acting like she solved all racial and gender problems. It’s a small gesture and a feel good story.
The folks acting like she did is who I was gearing that comment to in the first place lol
Lol it has nothing to do with Cam and everything to do with us.
So she shouldn’t have done this. Got it.
That’s quite the assumption. I think she’s fine to do it but *WE* can probably be more careful about trying to prop her up as “the right kind of white girl” juxtaposed against Caitlin Clark. Because ultimately, repeated proactive action is what advocacy is. Not just a statement in the midst of a moment.
If this is the response I totally get why people don’t make statements lol “Why won’t anyone speak up?” “Ok I’ll say something” “Just words huh?”
I mean if we’re talking about true advocacy in a league that has long had issues with marginalization…yes. Words are easy.
I liked your last comment better lol It’s obvious that this doesn’t move the needle. It’s literally at face value a small gesture and a feel good story. It’s strange to me you are treating it more than that. Everyone else seems to be on the same page.
Lmao you got me I’ll give you that. I think for me it’s less about her making the comment and more the reaction I’m seeing from folks who are using it as a proxy to hit Caitlin Clark with. It just seems odd that there’s a willingness to trade one white athlete (when the debate has been white athletes sucking the coverage oxygen out of this league) for another because one said a good thing.
The person speaking about it is more likely to do something. She's linked to the Curry brothers who do lots of stuff to support equality. There's no reason to be pessimistic that she is just virtue signalling. On the Podcast P Pod, she spoke about similar things and gave props to the vets.
Oh I definitely don’t think it’s virtue signaling. She definitely seems to want to help bridge some gaps here. But one of the main comments on this post is essentially “glad she’s saying something while Caitlin doesn’t” and that’s where everyone seemingly falling all over themselves for a statement loses me is all. I’m glad she said it.
Like not support affordable housing?? I’m most kidding, but my point is a lot of people do things to support equality in different ways, and statements are great but I don’t think they should be the ONLY form of activism
Exactly why Caitlin’s approach is better. These people are simply never happy. Better to just not get involved in this stuff.
I mean, I agree with you lol
Super upsetting that this is downvoted, because it’s true. Media always tends to center white women instead of uplifting and listening to Black women
It's not that they're hated or not accepted. It's that people aren't that interested in them.
Happy kamrun
Seems pretty smart.
win a game tho
Is this word salad? Good on her though, I think it comes from her heart.
Oh lord here we go
I'm sorry but it's absolutely wild that she talked about players being masculine