INDIANAPOLIS – No offense to the media around the world who harassed her with questions. And no offense to the basketball analysts who scrutinized each of his games. And no hard feelings towards the fans who stopped her at the sandwich shop for a quick selfie or for an autograph on a napkin.
But Caitlin Clark is ready to take a break from the thunderous spotlight she’s been in since becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft, filling arenas and breaking every rookie record there was to break during of his first season with the Indiana fever.
“It’s like everyone is always watching your every move, no matter what you do,” Clark said Sept. 27 as the team spoke to the media for its end-of-season interviews. “The best thing I’ve tried to experience is being the same person, whether I’m leaving my apartment every day or whether I’m here, sitting in front of you all. I’ve tried to approach him do exactly the same way I can and I treat everyone with the same respect.”
The day after the Fever’s first-round playoff loss to the Connecticut Sun, Clark said she woke up with a surreal feeling.
“I thought, ‘I don’t know what I’m really going to do,’” she said, pausing for a moment, then smiling. “But it’s going to be good, I think, to come out of the shadows and be able to live my life and do the things that I want to do. It’ll definitely be a little adjustment period.”
Throughout his rookie season, which sparked controversy and hyper focused on Clark and the internal workings of the WNBA, these were difficult days. And there were some extraordinary days, Clark said. “It’s just life.”
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Clark credited her parents for helping her adjust to her new role. While she became a true professional women’s basketball phenomenon, she always remembered her beginnings.
“I was raised to believe that you have to treat every person with respect. And I feel like I have a really good feeling, you know, basketball isn’t everything to me and that’s how I was raised,” she said. “Basketball was something I loved doing, but there were a lot of other things I needed to do in my life.”
Schoolwork was always the priority and she had many household chores, like unloading the dishwasher and taking out the trash.
“There are just things that my parents really invested in to make sure that I was a good person before basketball or sports,” she said. “And I just tried to live the exact same way.”
This often means giving a little of herself to anyone who approaches her.
“What I’ve tried to show everyone too is that I try to be the best human I can be every day. I try to give people time if I have it,” a- she declared. “And it can be difficult because there are times when you don’t always want to pose for a photo. You just want to go get your sandwich and have lunch. But I feel very grateful.”
Lin Dunn, Fever’s senior advisor, said it’s important to remember that the WNBA wasn’t Clark’s first rodeo in the spotlight.
“I think the experiences she had at Iowa (were) very similar throughout her career, throughout the Big Ten season, the sold-out arenas, the media, the trolls, everything work,” Dunn said. “She’s already faced a lot of things that she’s dealing with now.”
Her Fever teammate Aliyah Boston saw firsthand what Clark went through.
“Everyone had a comment about how she should play or what she does, her stats. … I mean, she’s got a lot of attention on her, so there’s always going to be scrutiny,” said Boston. “But I also think she does a great job of letting it go off her shoulder, in one ear, out the other, because she knows that. We trust her, she trusts us, and it “is the most important thing in the world.” end of the day.”
From the day Clark stepped onto the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Fever coach Christie Sides saw not only her basketball prowess, but also her maturity in handling the whirlwind swirling around her outside of the land.
“She’s human and she’s been through a lot this season and handled it in the most professional way,” Sides said. “She has not only become a basketball player, but also a young professional.”
There were times when Sides would check in with Clark to make sure she was okay, especially when she kept quiet.
“Most of the time she’s not really quiet, but when she gets that way, you might think, ‘Maybe I should just check on her a little,'” Sides said. “Because she’s our leader and she’s going to lead our team. But she never takes her hat off. She stays the course and stays consistent. And (I have) a lot of respect for her and the way she does that and what she’s been doing all the time is about that.
Although being in the spotlight has been intense, Clark said, “I’m very grateful for the relationships I’ve built, the opportunities I’ve had. Whether it was at Iowa or whether it’s now at the WNBA, people really supported me.
“I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Contact her by email: [email protected].
This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark welcomes not being in the spotlight: ‘Watching your every move’
