It seems that no matter what it is, Caitlin Clark continues to dominate headlines and ratings. Now, that includes print media. Veteran USA Today Journalist and Women's sports advocate, Christine Brennan has written a New York Times bestselling book about Clark.
On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution of Women's Sports by Brennan has been an instant best seller. After reading the book in its entirety here are a few takeaways from Brennan's work.
Caitlin Clark's competitive drive started early in her life
Early in the book, Brennan chronicled how Clark became ultra-competitive and wanted to be at the highest level even at an early age. In ninth grade, Brennan told a story about how Clark, who was playing with older girls scored 13 points in just over a minute to lead her team to the Final Four of Nike Nationals.
The WNBA was not ready or may have not wanted to be ready for Clark's arrival
Throughout each chapter, Brennan demonstrates certain examples of how the league seemed to not fully grasp the moment they were in. Despite the sold-out arenas and continued interest, Brennan spoke of how the old guard such as Sheryl Swoopes and Geno Auriemma seemed to degrade Clark's arrival.
Brennan spoke to many in the book and how one reason may have been that Clark (white and straight) was getting much attention from a league that is primarily black and of the LBGTQ+ persuasion.
Dr. Harry Edwards (civil rights leader) said in the book that the WNBA should have prepared the players for Clark's rise and popularity and the black players who helped build up on the league and felt slighted they did not receive the same attention or love from fans.
Brennan spoke of issues the league had when she asked player Dijonnai Carrington if she purposely hit Clark in the eye during the postseason. Carrington and the league took issue with Brennan asking the question. Brennan spoke directly about the situation and the league's stance in this excerpt from the book:
"I would ask any male athlete what I asked Carrington, so why wouldn’t I ask a female athlete those questions? I posted the video of my questions and Carrington’s answers on social media; it received millions of views. By covering this story seriously, I was giving the WNBA the respect it deserved, just like the NFL or the Olympics. I was doing my job."
The Olympic snub was wrong
Brennan dedicated a chapter and several pages on how Clark was left off the 2024 Olympic roster. It seemed based on her research, the decision how less to Clark's ability and more to do with wanting to not deal with the attention that Clark would bring.
A quote from the book demonstrates the misunderstanding USA basketball took from not involving Clark: Jen Rizzotti, the chair of USA Basketball’s women’s committee, was optimistic that the interest in Clark would die down as the Paris Games approached. “I would hope,” she said on her Zoom press conference on June 11, “that the journey that this team is about to take and the unprecedented amount of success that they’ve had is story enough for people to want to follow it and to market it and to pay attention to these extraordinary 12 women that are going to be representing us this summer in Paris.”
Brennan spoke that despite players such as A'ja Wilson and Diana Taurasi on the roster, neither had moved the needle the way Clark had and that several countries were upset with Clark not participating.
Erica Wheeler was instrumental in Clark's rookie season
There were a lot of moments about resentement and pettiness throughout the book that Brennan chronicled against Clark. However, one bright spot was how veteran guard Erica Wheeler took Clark under wing throughout her rookie season as a member of the Fever.
Wheeler helped mold Clark along and was a big reason why she was able to keep Clark not only loose but kept her mind focused during several key moments in the season.
One example was after Clark was cheap shotted throughout the game in a game against the Chicago Sky, Wheeler put a towel over Clark's mouth to prevent her from getting a technical foul amid speaking.
Another example was after Clark and the Fever were eliminated by the Connecticut Sun in the postseason. Wheeler immediately checked on Clark (who scored 25 points in the loss) after the game to see if she was ok.
The book compares Clark to the likes of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. It is a worthwhile read about her popularity, talent and charisma. It also about how the WNBA needs to continue to grow to embrace the moment they are in thanks to Clark.