Caitlin Clark should be allowed to be mortal
Caitlin Clark did not have enough The second season she probably hoped for. After a superb close to his recruit year, expectations were very high for the most prominent player in the WNBA. While Clark has undoubtedly demonstrated that she is one of the league’s elite guards – and presented lightning lights, such as a three -point ridiculous dam against the reigning champions earlier this month – she also missed time with two different injuries and fought with her shot lately.
First, it was a quadruple right injury, which remarkably marked his first injury away since high school. Clark missed five games with this injury and the female world in basketball.
According to USA TODAY, national television on a league level dropped by 55% during its absence. The bill of Indiana fever on national television has also decreased, decreasing by 53% during its absence. It is difficult to find such a needle engine in any Sport, but at this stage, the impact of Clark on the sale of tickets, the viewer and the popularity of women’s basketball as a whole cannot be overestimated.
At the same time, it is not because it massively modifies that the conversation of the hearing must take place whenever it is away. The well -being of Clark – mental and physical – comes first, and the WNBA has already concluded an agreement on long -term media rights. Basketball fans should first be empathetic fans and play the role of the second television executive. Clark has to face a myriad of injuries herAnd this is often overshadowed and neglected given its role larger than life in female basketball.
Clark made a show when she returned from her quad injury, exploding for a 32 -point summit against freedom and after a performance of 20 points against Connecticut Sun.
But in her last three games, she had a hard time an unusual degree, pulling only 1-23 beyond the arc. THE speech – As it is typical of all the scenarios linked to Clark – intensified.
But Caitlin Clark is a sniper. Occasional collapses are part of the game. There is nothing like a shooter who does not go through cold spells. Maybe it’s an injury, maybe it’s fatigue, or maybe that’s right-a crisis.
“She will be fine,” said teammate Lexie Hull after the hard Tuesday evening of Clark against the Seattle storm, in which she scored 6 points of the season. “We don’t worry. He’s a big shooter, a great player. It happens to each great player.”
We tend to demand answers when shooters are struggling. When Steph Curry was in the middle of one of the worst stretching of his career in 2022, an exploratory article after an exploratory article was written, trying to go to the bottom of the reason for which he was not himself.
But there are not always satisfactory answers. Sometimes there are only crises.
On Thursday, fever announced that their star star was faced with a new injury: a groin injury. The injury does not necessarily explain the cold fate of Clark, but it could easily.
“I think it’s a daily thing, how she reacts to treatment,” said head coach Stephanie White on Thursday morning, according to Chloe Peterson by Indy Star.
Clark could just miss a game or two. Maybe she will miss five. HopefullyIt is nothing serious and she will be back earlier.
The league television ratings will probably take another dive, based on recent history. But it is not her problem – she is just a 23 -year -old basketball player with a very long career to hope. There is no reason to rush when your health is at stake.
Inevitably, Clark will have a lot of bad games and much more (hope that all minors) injuries in his future. She will have a lot of nights at three points 0 for 7. And, just like when a superstar is struggling, there will be a lot of excessive reactions.
But it is important to remember the overview: Caitlin Clark is young. I hope she (a lot) more than a decade of professional basketball in front of her. She may be the face of women’s basketball, but she shouldn’t have to have the weight with each shot, a missed match or missed injury.
Before being an international icon, she is a young woman who likes to play basketball. We must remember that before entering a blood quarrel on its commercial value each time it is injured or plays well.
