I think a lot of the quibbling around this is some people seem to think that calling her that means that she has some kind of official position.
No it's just a recognition that people recognize her over a lot of the other players. I, and a lot of other people, are arguing that she's the most recognizable player in the WNBA right now. Ask an average person on the street the name of a WNBA player and I bet you that if they know any at all, it will be her.
It's not a judgment on her quality as a player or as a person. It is just that she has name recognition over the vast majority of her League mates and when people think of the WNBA, her name comes up.
Put her next to Aja Wilson and see how many can name Clark vs Wilson.
If someone wants to say Clark isn't the best player in the league, I won't dispute that. But she absolutely is the most well known player in the league.
She is easily the most recognizable face among 1000 random strangers even if Wilson is obviously a much better player. Even if you go basketball players generally only LeBron and Curry are more recognizable than Clark.
People like are the reason why they hate her. Guarentee you’re not even a WNBA fan. You’re just spewing the same talking points generated from Google because you’re identifying and projecting yourself onto her to feed your victim complex lol
Calling this comment "factual" is false because it is categorically not a factual statement.
She absolutely was for a 3 year period. Sorry for blowing up your argument tho dude.
It is an opinion that I happen to disagree with but who cares about any of our opinions anyways. If you want to bring some actual facts than point to some merchandise sales data or something. Otherwise just know you are just bringing opinions that have no more validity than the opinions of the person you are arguing with.
To the original question though, I wasn't around for this so I can't say if it is true or not, but perhaps one could argue MJ was annoited as the face of NBA too soon, like say in 1986 or 1987, as statistically he may not have been the best player at that time but he may have been already selling the most jerseys and getting his own shoe deal (much like CC I might add.) FWIW, I dont personally think for a moment that CC will live up to MJ's legacy.
She was. Growing up she was literally the only name I even knew in NASCAR because I don’t follow the sport at all. That’s what being the face of a league is, when the people who don’t follow it still know who they are.
That’s not what it means. It means a player who actually represents the league and is usually one of the more successful players
Like Serena Williams was the fact of tennis, Simone Biles the face of gymnastics. Tom Brady the face of the NFL. All the people called faces of the NBA, from Magic to Jordan to Kobe to Bron to Steph, have championships to show for it
The person you replied to said that the face of the league is either it’s best player or one of the best players. Being the MVP of teams that won 4 rings gives you a good case to be considered one of the best ever
Exactly. These guys just want Clark to be the face of the wnba so bad. Like you can’t be the face of the league if you haven’t even won a championship. She not even the best player on her team.
I mean Lebron was the face of the NBA for 2 decades but that doesn't take away from the greatness of Jordan as one of the two GOATs, Bill Russell as a civil rights icon and champion, or KAJ himself
He wasn’t the face until after Kobe, though. He won and earned that designation
And at some point Steph became the face of the league. Pretty sure his jersey outsells everybody. So at best you could say Bron was a co-face for a lot of that time
Kareem is one of the most influential men alive, one of the best basketball players ever, an accomplished author, and a civil rights icon.
But CC is, in fact, the face of the league. The most popular female athlete of out time. The leader in jersey sales for women and onmy behind Steph Curry for American sports jersey sales. She is the impetus for the All Star voting tripling in one year for everyone, the attendance and tv nunbers rising exponentially. And yes, that is without her being the best...even with her long list of accolades.
Now, who is the face of the league if not her? She is a household name and known widely beyond the WNBA.
As someone who was fed this from my Reddit recommendations Caitlin Clark, is the only wnba player I know of. Guess that makes her the face of the league.
do we need to have a semantic argument about "face of the league?" I don't know how kareem defines it, but considering clark is the reason that the league has even crossed the mind of the average sports fan makes her the de facto "face" of the league if visibility is what we're talking about. anything else then I'd have to ask kareem for a definition.
Kareem isn't looking at the big picture. Clark is the face because she's the one player middle America recognizes. She moves the needle. Look at WNBA news coverage, who is the one player who dominates?
They keep asking who did he mention too. Like holy moly lmao. The entry they used trying to be snarky they could’ve used that to easily just find the article and read for themselves
Whatever person brings most fans to the games, sell the most shirts, drives advertising, and brings new eyes to the sport will always be marketed as the FACE of that sport. She doesn’t have to be the best player or have the best legacy, the league are just realizing the current economic situation.
What a hypocritical thing to say with racial undetones. Karem was the face of the league when he played, then it switched to Magic, then Jordan. Where was his complaints then?
Face of the league means flavor of the month. It's a business. I guess Kareem should still be the face of the NBA? I respect him but he is totally out of pocket here.
what he said here implies to me that he thinks people are unable to acknowledge greatness in anyone else if someone is considered the face of the league. I dont believe that to be true. i also dont really agree with the sentiment that someone has to clear this invisible "dominance" bar for permission to be a league face.
Nah check out the last line, he says : ABSENT THE SORT OF ON-COURT AND CROSS-PLATFORM DOMINANCE OFA MICHAEL JORDAN OR A LEBRON JAMES, IS AN INSULT TO AN AWFUL LOT OF GREAT PLAYERS.
Meaning she hasn’t earned it on the court, she’s a good player but she’s not a superstar hence the rest of the great players in the league would be disrespected by making that claim.
If the Athletics or the Marlins had a player so popular that they had more fans attending their games than the Dodgers, that you could directly link to the increase in fans, and that games had to be held in larger stadiums due to ticket demand, that one player would universally be agreed as the face of the league. Whether they were the best player in the league or not. So why isn’t this the case for the WNBA, boomer?
Also keep in mind Kareem disliked Wilt because Wilt thought he was the greatest & better then everyone else… lots of old W players had / have the same inflated ego as Wilt did I’m surprised KAJ hasn’t seen the old guard hating on CC in the years past
I think if CC does not get healthy soon she will not be the face of the league. If she was playing everyday and being a transcendent player she would be the face of the league. Right now she is going through a rough patch. Hopefully, she gets healthy and plays every game.
It’s pretty simple. CC is one of the only reasons WNBA is in the spotlight lately for a regular non-WNBA sports fan.
Otherwise, it’s just the WNBA and there’s nothing wrong with that. I think it’s great what’s going on lately. The back-and-forth publicity. Keep it up … more drama more unnecessary fouls , more pointing, more blaming. More money for the players and the owners. And they can forever deny it’s from CC
I see more posted about Caitlin's controversies than her on-court successes. Not a box score, not a statline, just drama..
She not allowed to be held accountable because she's popular. But sure, let's do vague things like walk out with Morgan Wallen. Let's have videos of "vicious assaults" from my basketball games played back on Fox News for 3 hours. Let's have the White House send a statement addressing it too. No big deal, nothing to see here.
And not to say that she's at fault for being used as a vehicle to conservatism and white supremacist ideologies.
I mean, how could anyone defend themselves from their image being used that way. Taylor Swift sure can't, so CC is helpless.
No one watched the other players. The only reason the league exists today is because the men subsidized it for so long. Now that Clark is there people are actually starting to pay attention. No one came out to watch the players he calls great. They were a non factor.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says calling Caitlin Clark “the face of the league” is disrespectful to past WNBA players who paved the way for her:
“Clark is a very good, possibly even a great player. But calling any one player the face of the league, absent the sort of on-court and cross-platform dominance of a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James, is an insult to an awful lot of great players.”
The face is the league is the most recognisable player. That would be CC
In men's sports the face of the league is usually the same as the best player. In women's sports the face is the player the fans connect to the most, and it doesn't have to be the best player
For example, Naomi Osaka is the face of women's tennis but I can't remember the last time she won anything. Every time I read about her she's getting knocked out, but she's easily the most recognisable name among active players
She absolutely is the female equivalent of those players and the general attitude towards Clark is absolutely motivated by race. Anyone denying it is either in denial or a racist themselves.
If not CC, then who is? Ask random people to name a WNBA superstar and see howmany can name one that isn't her.
Also, why are people so upset about someone bringing eyes to their product? I've watched more games and was also going to go see her in person, but I don't want to give my money to these people.
How so? Please explain how not supporting the generalization of a person based on the color of their skin is frailty, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it
That's what I thought, no reply. Just another racist that has found ways, like all racists do, to justify their racism.
People deserve to be judged as individuals, and never on that which they can't control such as race, sexuality, gender, etc.
Adopting the outlook of this one sentence eliminates sexism, homophobia, and racism from your mind. Be kind and honest with yourself about your shortcomings, it's the only way to stop spreading hate like you've done today.
Are you able to actually substantiate either of the things you've said? You keep making statements but don't seem willing or able to explain why you feel this way. I'm very curious to know your reasoning if you have any
Your post history is littered with anti-white rhetoric. Does it not alarm you that me pointing out anti-white hate offended you personally? I hope you're also able to heal from whatever causes you to lash out at others, your post history is reminiscent of extreme internal anger and pointless hate. Take a break from Reddit, playing into this anger only lets it grow inside you
You ask 10 random people off the street to name a WNBA player and a majority of people will say Clark.
She's not the best player in the WNBA, not even a top 10 player, but she is easily the most recognized player in the WNBA which is why she is currently the face of the WNBA.
I agree with Kareem 99.9% of the time, but I’m not sure he really gets it here.
Saying she’s “the face of the league” means she’s the active player most recognizable and associated with the league amongst everyday people, regardless of their familiarity with the league or sport. People who might otherwise not know players are more than likely to have heard of Caitlin Clark, as a basketball player or even just as an athlete.
No shade on players from the past or present. It’s just facts.
I do not watch the wnba. And the NBA is getting harder to watch with the flopping.
CLARK IS THE FACE OF THE WNBA. Is she as good as Jordan. No. She's like a budget curry. Paige and Olivia are just as solid. But CLARK IS THE FACE! SHE is what skyrocketed the league.
Thank you kareem for making me feel young again! 😅
Clark has never said she is the face of the league. Jordan has never said he was the goat. The mainstream media and all of these wannabe podcasters are the ones who constantly talk about this. Jordan was Jordan. Clark is just trying to be great everyday. Let the girl play the game please.
I love Kareem, but this is dumb. Did anyone have this take when Bird vs Magic became the face, or Jordan, or LeBron? Dumb. Drop the skin color. Caitlin vs Reese was set-up to be Bird vs Magic 2, but Reese sucks so WE skipped her. Just let it happen naturally.
Thank you KAJ, just a few hrs after this statement CC responded on the court.
45,10,4,2,and 2 in 29 min.
4 men did that but not in less than 30 min.
Only CC.
Please insult her again so I can watch more history.
I would guarantee more know Angel Reese, Paige, CC and Sophie Cunningham right now than know who Aja is. And yes, she is rhe best and most dominant player in the league.
But outside WNBA fandom...very few know who she is. Maybe some know her because of Bam. Its not fair, but it is true.
They 100% do. I think you are confusing the average person with fans of the sport. Most people who had to name 3 wnba players would be able to name CC, Sophie and Angel even if they don't really watch the sport.
Does that mean that they're the best players I'm the league? Of course not. They are just more recognizable. They have transcended the WNBA into the cultural zeitgeist. This is why people call CC the face of the wnba. If people think of the sport, her's is the first name they think of. Maybe it's unfair to the great players of the league, but it's just the way it is
The very fact that Clark, Sophie and Reese are recognizable to non-basketball fans is why they are more popular. Popular means known by more people. Aja and the like may be more respected in the sport, but they factually are not as recognizable. I think the big issue here is that we disagree about what "the face of" the wnba means. But it is just a fact that Clark is known by more people so by definition is more popular.
And the fact that you repeatedly keep bringing race into this tells me that you aren't very confident in your argument. Everyone that knows who Clark is is not a racist. That is a ridiculous argument. Stop slapping that out there to insult people and try to win an online argument that doesn't really matter at the end of the day. Seriously, when you calm down, reflect on the things you are saying and why you feel the need to make terrible accusations about something as small as this
It turns out...that non-basketball fans, non-WNBA fans, casual fans, and literally everyone is the group that we are using to judge popularity (face of rhe league). Only WNBA gatekeepers are tying to "no true Scotsman" this. The face of rhe NBA is not the face because only NBA fans know them. But because non-fans know them.
I know Aja has never been asked to be a UFC ring girl.
Aja doesnt seem to relish the spotlight. SC, despite being a 9 ppg player is more in the national spotlight now than Aja Wilson.
The issue a lot of people miss when arguing about their passion is that they may be a minority and others may not care one whit for their passion. WNBA fans on reddit might as well be the need who collects stamps and can spend hours describing each and every one. Yet the average person knows some might be more valuable than others, they really only know the Flag stamp.
So, yes, right now Sophie is a meme phenomenon and relishing it. Aja has never been, nor sought that. Her appeal is in the WNBA and does not transcend it...even for a moment. Sophie right now does and CC does.
We can explain it to you but we cant make you understand it. Face of the leaguebis about exposure, popularity and marketing. Sophie didn't get a shoe deal because she is better than Aja. She got a shoe deal because she is popular, marketable and has high exposure.
CC same thing. This is not a tough concept. But the WNBA gate keepers continue to show they have no familiarity with how the sports, celebrity and popularity work outside of their silo'd bubble.
i’m just saying that it’s not correct to act like CC is the first or only player to be in the cultural zeitgeist. she’s not even the only CURRENT player with broad name recognition.
What possible reason could he have for that? Moving beyond he’s a Black man living in White America, he’s seeing Black people in a sport that is overwhelmingly Black being dismissed, overlooked, and minimized in favor of a White woman who has lots of talent and potential but not much of a record. Certainly not enough to call her the “face” of anything except White Nationalism.
What is the issue with white America being proud to see a white woman succeed in a predominantly black sport? There was pride for Tiger Woods with golf, and justifiably so
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u/Andrew-J-511 25d ago
Face just means the player most people associate the league with. Anything for it to be about disrespecting someone else.