The athlete who can thread the needle on the court knows how to walk a fine line with her words, as well.
Earlier this month, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark won the ESPY Award for “Best Record-Breaking Performance.”
As noted by Awful Announcing, Clark became the first female athlete to earn that particular award.
During the awards show on July 11, host Serena Williams dragged race into her schtick.
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“Caitlin Clark had an amazing year and is nominated for three awards,” Williams said. “Caitlin, you are the Larry Bird [of the WNBA] in that you are an amazing player, you have ties to Indiana, and, uh, white people are really crazy about you.”
While some took umbrage at the remark, Clark — as she has before — took the high road with her response.
“I didn’t know that until my little brother sent it to me this morning,” Clark said.
“I think it’s super cool. I think [I] probably shouldn’t have been the first woman to win that award, in my eyes, just because I grew up supporting so many different female athletes that I idolized and I loved.”
“The amount of records that I saw people break and win. To me, how did Serena Williams never win that award?” she asked.
“That’s crazy, just thinking about things like that. But, hopefully, it’s the start to women getting more recognition and, you know, their accomplishments being recognized more,” she said.
The U.K.’s Daily Mail noted that for the second consecutive year, Clark won the award for best Female College Athlete while also winning the top Female Athlete award this time around.
“Something that really stood out to me was like how much women’s basketball was a part of the show. I think it shows where women’s basketball is going and obviously women’s athletics in general,” Clark said, according to Awful Announcing.
“Obviously Serena did a tremendous job hosting. I think that was great,” she said, noting that awards to other female basketball players showed how the times have changed.
“I think it just shows the excitement around the game and how many people watch and pay attention and where it’s going to go,” she said.
The WNBA was showcased at the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 21.
Josh Berry and the Stewart-Haas Racing team had an image of Clark on the hood of the Ford Mustang Berry driven in the race, according to NASCAR.