Break from the spotlight is good for Caitlin Clark

I know a lot of you have Caitlin Clark fatigue at this point, and frankly I’ve been one of you at times over the past couple of weeks. So much drama!

Yet, Caitlin herself asked for NONE of it. She just puts her head down and plays ball. She had very little to say about the hard, blindside flagrant foul by Chicago’s Chennedy Carter that seemed to cause such a nationwide frenzy. On Sunday there was heavy coverage again on a flagrant foul by Angel Reese against her on a drive to the basket. The outcry must be coming from people who are new to following women’s basketball, because those plays happen all the time.

The national angst regarding Clark reached an even higher level when word got leaked that Clark would not be on the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team.

Clark’s sudden rise in popularity in the past year to an iconic level has put her in the constant spotlight. She’s just trying to navigate the challenge of the transition from collegiate basketball to the pro version, against strong, grown adult women whose only job over a number of years has been playing basketball.

You think they’re just going to roll over and let the new kid grab all of the attention without putting her to the test? Of course not.

Because of Iowa’s deep run in the NCAA tournament, Clark missed any opportunity to be a part of Olympic training camp sessions, even if she was one of the 12 selections. And, to add the fatigue of an Olympic trip, and learning yet another new system on the court, after all that she’s been through in the past eight months, would be a lot to ask of anyone. Especially so when you know how much she’d be in the international media spotlight in Paris, even if she was a reserve player on the team.

Sean Roberts of KXnO, a Des Moines sports radio station, was on a vacation at a resort in the Dominican Republic during the NCAA women’s Final Four in early April. Even there, among people from all over the world, he said it was like everything stopped and people were huddled around televisions when Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes were playing. It was a phenomenon.

So, I get it when people say she should have been added to the team to help grow the sport with such a huge global impact. Heck, a New Zealand radio station called Christine Brennan of USA Today for an interview after Brennan broke the report that USA Basketball was concerned about the “backlash” of Caitlin Clark fans if she was on the Olympic team, but only saw limited playing time.

Brennan said Clark’s moment in the spotlight should be capitalized on during this Olympics, if the WNBA truly wants to reach optimum heights in popularity.

But, after a lot of thought, I’ve finally come around to the idea that maybe waiting until the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles is the perfect time for her to take that step. By then she will be a true leader of the team and even a better player, and some of these older veterans on this year’s national team will be gone. So will some of the resentment about her.

Her former coach, retiring Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, commented on the issue in an interview with Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post.

“I think it would’ve benefited Caitlin if she would’ve had another year of experience and maybe not be coming right off of her collegiate season where she’s pretty tired as you can see in her play right now,” Bluder said. “When she’s tired, she struggles a little bit. When she’s fresh as in the other night, she has 30 points. So, her body needs a rest and the silver lining is that her body will get some rest during this break. I think we have to focus on the silver lining to this whole deal.”

As of last week, the top 11 games in WNBA attendance this season all involved the Indiana Fever, which is not among the best teams by any means. In her rookie season, merchandise online sales in the league are up 756%. Television viewership has tripled.

Veteran players should take a moment to realize that rising tides lift all boats. They’re benefiting from the hoopla.

But, at this point, the best thing for everyone involved — except maybe the marketing department of the WNBA — is for Clark to get a much-needed break from the constant scrutiny and reset herself for the rest of this season.

If I’m still alive with my senses intact at age 71 during the next Olympic cycle, I look forward to watching her shine on that stage when she’s truly earned it.

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Email: malachy.lp@gmail.com

Twitter: @larrypeterson