Cameron Brink acknowledges the privilege for younger, white, feminine looking players in WNBA coverage

Ever since Caitlin Clark took a hip-check from Chennedy Carter, the incident has sparked a conversation about the nature of the WNBA. Should the league be giving special treatment to these rookies, especially the ones bringing in the finances that the league has yet to see?

Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink, who was drafted at No. 2 overall, was asked about it in an interview with Uproxx's Megan Armstrong that was published on Wednesday. Brink gave realistic insight on what it is like to be treated in the WNBA through her lens.

She has shown that she is on a mission to help grow the game of women's basketball and show how it goes far beyond her own platform. She wants every player in the league to have the same "privileges."

"The most tired narrative is that the vets are against the rookies — this old-school versus new-school narrative — and the narrative that the rookies need to be perfect. I feel like Caitlin Clark has that the worst right now, but even I get that. She had three points the other night [against New York on June 2]. I had three points the other night [against Indiana on May 28]. We’re expected to be perfect. We were drafted to high-drafting teams coming off of losing seasons, which is fine. It’s a learning process. But people expect us to be perfect, and it’s freaking exhausting. I feel like we learn how to tune it out, but still, it’s unrealistic, and it kind of just shows that people don’t know basketball."

Many people expected Brink and Clark to enter the WNBA and perform just as they did in college. But it doesn't come as easily as most think. Clark came off of her best season yet at Iowa, but now the result in the league hasn't looked the same. She was immediately given primary ball-handling duties for one of the worst teams in the WNBA and is now trying to get comfortable with a level of play she's never experienced.

However, Brink has been extremely efficient on lower usage and is using her defensive skills to stand out in this year's rookie class. She has averaged 8.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. Except the two players are given two completely different roles in a league where the jump between college and pro is much larger than the NBA due to the different number of teams where the WNBA is significantly less in 12 teams.

Cameron Brink on white privilege in the WNBA

The other common topic that is surrounded by the two players is being white in a predominantly Black league. But Brink wants there to be acceptance for every single player in the league.

"I could go way deeper into this, but I would just say growing the fan base to support all types of players. I will acknowledge there’s a privilege for the younger white players of the league. That’s not always true, but there is a privilege that we have inherently and the privilege of appearing feminine. Some of my teammates are more masculine. Some of my teammates go by they/them pronouns. I want to bring more acceptance to that and not just have people support us because of the way that we look. I know I can feed into that because I like to dress femininely, but that’s just me. I want everyone to be accepted — not just paid attention to because of how they look."

The WNBA has brought in many new fans for this season, and the demographics of the league have come up through the media. Brink has shown to be a popular player already and is committed to using her influence to be an ally and supporter of equality for all players.

At the end of the day, for Brink and Clark, it's all just a learning process. We all just need to remember that these are young female athletes getting adjusted as smoothly as possible.