The athlete who can thread the needle on the court knows how to walk a fine line with her words, as well.
Last week, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark won the ESPY Award for âBest Record-Breaking Performance.â
As noted by Awful Announcing, Clark became the first female athlete to earn that particular award.
During Thursdayâs awards show, host Serena Williams dragged race into her schtick.
How?! ð¤¯
What a pass by Caitlin Clark to connect with Lexie Hull on the cut to the basket
ðº ESPN pic.twitter.com/wHisdxrLm7
â WNBA (@WNBA) July 14, 2024
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âCaitlin Clark had an amazing year and is nominated for three awards,â Williams said. âCaitlin, you are the Larry Bird [of the WNBA] in that you are an amazing player, you have ties to Indiana, and, uh, white people are really crazy about you.”
While some took umbrage at the remark, Clark — as she has before — took the high road with her response.
âI didnât know that until my little brother sent it to me this morning,â Clark said.
Do you like Caitlin Clarkâs response?
âI think itâs super cool. I think [I[ probably shouldnât have been the first woman to win that award, in my eyes, just because I grew up supporting so many different female athletes that I idolized and I loved.â
âThe amount of records that I saw people break and win. To me, how did Serena Williams never win that award?â she asked.
CC on being the 1st woman to win the Best Record Breaking Performance ESPY: âYea I didnât know that until my little brother sent it to me this morningâ¦. It probably shouldnât have been the first woman to win that award⦠how did Serena Williams never win that award?â
Full clip: pic.twitter.com/v11LfHKciK
â Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) July 12, 2024
âThatâs crazy, just thinking about things like that. But, hopefully, itâs the start to women getting more recognition and, you know, their accomplishments being recognized more,â she said.
The Daily Mail noted that for the second consecutive year, Clark won the award for best Female College Athlete while also winning the top Female Athlete award this time around.
âSomething that really stood out to me was like how much womenâs basketball was a part of the show. I think it shows where womenâs basketball is going and obviously womenâs athletics in general,â Clark said, according to Awful Announcing.
âObviously Serena did a tremendous job hosting. I think that was great,â she said, noting that awards to other female basketball players showed how the times have changed.
âI think it just shows the excitement around the game and how many people watch and pay attention and where itâs going to go,â she said.
Raining 3s with the No. 4â°â°@joshberry will race at Indianapolis with @PaniniAmerica and Indiana Fever star @CaitlinClark22. pic.twitter.com/f87gyp4h67
â Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) July 16, 2024
The WNBA will be seen at Sundayâs Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Josh Berry and the Stewart-Haas Racing team have an image of Clark on the hood of the Ford Mustang Berry will drive in the race, according to NASCAR.