Women’s basketball stars stand at the crossroads of school basketball, women’s skilled sports and the broader relationship between race and gender.
Last yr’s NCAA women’s basketball championship between Louisiana State University and the University of Iowa sparked controversy when LSU’s Angel Reese made a hand gesture that many considered rude to Iowa player Caitlin Clark.
Reese, a black woman, received it immediately misogynistic online response to this gesture, though Clark made an analogous gesture earlier in the game.
The situation caused undue, uninvited stress and a spotlight to each Reese and Clark and brought up a protracted history of racial conflict in sports. This has prompted fans and critics to consider the social roles traditionally assigned to white and black athletes and the way these lingering expectations proceed to influence broader perceptions of individual athletes.
As this yr’s NCAA Tournament unfolds, it could once more set a brand new record for women’s sports as recent standards for rankings are set and much more pressure falls on the sport’s superstars.
The development of NCAA women’s basketball
It’s unimaginable to ignore the growing interest in women’s college basketball, fueled largely by the emergence of stars like Clark, Reese, University of Southern California freshman guard JuJu Watkins AND University of Utah senior forward Alissa Pili.
2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament averaging 6.5 million viewers in the last two games and 9.9 million in the championship game. Compared, The 2023 NHL Stanley Cup was watched by a mean of two.6 million viewers in the United States4.6 million in 2022 and a couple of.5 million in 2021.
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
For comparison, NCAA men’s basketball has been declining for years due to its connection to the NBA draft. Since 2006 NBA-authorized players must have no less than one yr off from highschool and 19 years to be eligible for the project. Before 2006, players could enter the draft immediately after graduating from highschool.
There was a chance to enter the NBA at the age of 18 a privilege granted only after the Supreme Court’s 1967 decision allowed University of Detroit forward Spencer Haywood to sign an NBA contract despite the league’s requirement that players not be drafted until 4 years after highschool graduation.
As creator Chuck Klosterman mentioned in an interview, the players attended the school for 3 or 4 years, allowing viewers to grow to be fans by watching players evolve. Currently, NBA players are drafted after only months on college campuses, which has led to a decline in interest in men’s college basketball.
It’s possible that this sense of disconnection has drawn a bigger audience to women’s collegiate games, where fans can develop more lasting relationships with players and witness intense competition between teams thanks to greater continuity of talent.
The changing faces of women’s basketball
Described as a “transformational talent”, “a supernova who will take women’s basketball to new heights”. inspiring the so-called “Caitlin Clark effect”, Clark is now a household name throughout North America.
Her impact is a strong, positive experience that disrupts the traditional gender marginalization and stereotypes that prevail in college sports. Clark’s achievements directly challenge the stereotype that female athletes are less athletic than male athletes.
This is a harmful and historic trope for a lot of reasons, one in all which is that it subjugates women as inferior athletes and undermines efforts to break patriarchal barriers
that have traditionally disenfranchised women in athletics as an entire.
In her role as an envoy for student athletes, Clark may also disrupt traditional ideas about femininity in sports. Her identity as a white woman and her wealth are also of great importance.
Because whiteness continues to be privileged and treated as a normative identity in college athletics across America, Clark is well-positioned to disrupt traditional ideas about femininity in a way that a non-white athlete cannot.
Wealth in women’s sports
The lucrative landscape around NIL (name, image, likeness) laws. implies that NCAA women’s basketball stars earn significantly greater than previous generations of players. NIL rules allow players to monetize their name, image and likeness through sponsorships and other activities.
There is concept that Clark will commit to the 2024 WNBA season, where she is very touted as the primary overall draft pick. Clark’s 11 NIL contracts are reportedly price a complete of $3 million – a figure that stands in stark contrast the usual $100,000 rookie salary of the top WNBA first-round picks.
(AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
However, this chance could put way more pressure on those carrying the banner of women’s basketball. This is recent and uncharted territory for collegiate players, and it portends possible tensions for female athletes who will eventually move on to skilled basketball.
A younger generation of stars may enter the WNBA with more wealth collected during their college careers than some longtime WNBA players have ever earned.
Clark, Reese and a brand new generation of school superstars at the moment are tasked not only with navigating an uneven sports market, but additionally pioneering a brand new era of wealth in women’s sports.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, as the saying goes, and Clark seems to carry the burden with skill. However, as a brand new generation of players transitions to the skilled game from the collegiate level games that have helped fuel the boost, it’s important to consider what weight is affordable for any athlete, irrespective of how battle-tested or highly regarded. .
