The WNBA has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, with viewership skyrocketing and arenas consistently selling out. And while that’s great news for everyone associated with it, there’s a downside that trailblazer Caitlin Clark’s teammate Aliyah Boston recently spoke about.
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Perhaps giving Clark 100% of the credit for the WNBA’s increased popularity would be unfair to the other incredible athletes in the league. But the second-year sensation was a huge draw in college for Iowa and was already the most talked-about star in the country even before she made her WNBA debut. When she started playing for the Indiana Fever, the game changed.
People, especially casual viewers, forget that Clark has teammates, and sometimes those teammates are under pressure for not delivering due to the extra amount of eyes on their game. Fever center Boston discussed this with WNBA legend Sue Bird.
“Everybody loves Caitlin. They love watching Caitlin. I think that just brings so much eyes. For our league, that’s great. That’s great for us,” said Boston, after Bird brought up Clark’s star power. “They might come in for Caitlin, and they leave like, ‘Dang, this girl is a hooper too. Oh, I like her.’ Everyone says it, and I think you just kind of embrace that.”
Boston, of course, has to deal with negativity on social media as well, a trend that’s become far too common in the sport.
She said, “When it comes to social media, a lot of it to can be people that are trolling. But for me, it’s like, I am someone that already puts so much pressure on myself. And for you to come in and tell me like, you’re like the worst big I’ve ever seen in my life, it’s like, ‘You know what? Hear me out, I’m gonna leave.'”
Social media, for better or worse, gives the entire world the ability to share their opinions on any subject at any time. While there are plenty of respectable users, it has also become a cesspool of trolls who try to diminish people’s successes. Boston doesn’t let it bother her, but she does wish they understood the context of the Fever’s performances.
For instance, Boston hasn’t been playing with Clark for very long and explained that it takes time to build rapport with a teammate. “We weren’t given that grace period of like getting to play with someone you’ve never played with. The way we played the year before was, lot different. The way we play with Caitlin is, completely different dynamic,” she stated.
“People also forgot who chose to ignore the fact that this is my second year. I’m not a six-year pro, I’m not even a five-year pro now. I’m in my third year. When people are placed on a new team, give them a second.”
Again, this is probably the kindest way any athlete, particularly Boston, could respond to the situation. There is already enough stress in the league for the 23-year-old star without having to worry about that.
The good news is the noise clearly is not getting to her. The Fever squeaked out a win over the Atlanta Dream in the first round of the playoffs and are now headed to the semifinals, despite Clark and Sophie Cunningham being out for the remainder of the season.
Boston’s ability to stay strong through the social media nonsense while helping her team push forward only proves she has a big future ahead of her.
