Skip Bayless opened up about his reservations over publicly supporting women's basketball sensation Caitlin Clark in an episode of his podcast on Thursday.
Bayless revealed that he was actually in awe of Clark's ability, and it was the main thing that got him to start watching the WNBA this year. However, he revealed that the reason he did not buy into the Clark excitement early on was because of "guilt," and not wanting to stir racial division.
"I started to think, deep down in my psyche, ‘Wait a second, she’s really good.’ But I’ll be the first to admit, I felt guilty saying so on TV or on social media. I did not want to look like this red state white guy cheering for this red state white girl. Our country feels split enough racially already. I didn’t want to pour gasoline on that fire," Bayless said on the show.
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Bayless was a vocal opponent of Clark earlier this year, and he even questioned her potential during a broadcast on FS1 back in June.
"Caitlin, I don’t know if she has that dog in her," Bayless previously said. "I know she’s got talent, I know she’s got distant shooting talent and I know she definitely has a gift for passing the basketball. But I don’t know if she has that dog in her because I start to wonder — I know it’s extremely early, but I’m just saying, I start to wonder when I see what I saw (Sunday)."
Bayless went so far as to say that one of the reasons he took stances like these against Clark was because he believed the Iowa native was a "right-wing symbol" due to the fact that she is a White player excelling at the game of basketball.
"Maybe I was wrong about this, but Caitlin Clark started to feel like some sort of new right-wing symbol. ‘White woman dominating game dominated by Black men and women for years and years.’ I could almost hear some people thinking, ‘White power baby!’ And please, I’m not saying Caitlin Clark is far-right in her politics or beliefs. I have no idea what her politics or religion are because she has carefully, and I say smartly, avoided taking any rookie year stance because she is already such a lightning rod.
"I know what a powerful point of pride basketball has been to the Black community in this country. Black men and women obviously have been routinely and consistently better at basketball."
The 22-year-old Clark was actually pressed about her political beliefs during a press conference on Wednesday after liking Taylor Swift's Instagram post that announced her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming election. Clark did not give an endorsement or even a mention of either candidate, but simply said she believed in using her platform to encourage people to vote.
CAITLIN CLARK LIKES TAYLOR SWIFT'S ENDORSEMENT OF HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT
Clark was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and played at Iowa before she turned pro and was drafted by the Fever. Her parents, Anne and Brent, have three children, as Caitlin is the middle child between her two brothers, Blake and Colin. Her parents are life-long Iowa natives. Former President Donald Trump won six electoral votes in Iowa in the 2020 election. However, most of the votes in Polk County, where Des Moines is located, went to Biden.
Conversations over the role Clark's race plays in her popularity have been rampant since the end of her junior season at Iowa, when she led the Hawkeyes to the national championship game against Angel Reese and LSU, but lost.
Those conversations escalated in her first WNBA season, non-coincidentally against Reese's team, the Chicago Sky. Clark took several hard fouls from opponents early in her rookie year, but an infamous one by the Sky's Chennedy Carter in March ignited a strong backlash from many of Clark's loyal fans.
Reese herself suggested many of Clark's fans are racist in the first episode of her podcast last week.
"I think it's really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes it's very disrespectful. I think there's a lot of racism when it comes to it," Reese said.
Bayless is not the first major controversial sports talk show host to speak about Clark's race within the context of her reputation in the WNBA.
ESPN host Pat McAfee had to issue an apology over social media in June after referring to Clark as a "White b----" during a live television broadcast. However, in the apology, McAfee doubled down on his original argument that Clark's race has contributed to her reception by the WNBA and treatment from opposing players.
"Is there a chance people just enjoy watching her play basketball because of how electrifying she is, what she did, what she stood for, how she went about going what she went for?" McAfee said originally. "Maybe. But instead, we have to hear people say we only like her because she’s White, and she’s only popular because the rest of the rookie class is doing what they’re doing. Well, that’s a bunch of bulls--- and we think the WNBA — more specifically their refs — need to stop trying to screw her over at every single turn. What you have is somebody special, and we’re lucky she’s here in Indiana."
Jim Trotter, a columnist for The Athletic and the New York Times, has penned a series of columns focused on the aspect of Clark's race, criticizing both her fans and Clark herself for not taking a stronger stance against some of her fans' prejudices when asked about it.
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