OAN’s James Meyers
3:11 PM – Thursday, May 23, 2024
“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin recently tried to argued that “White privilege” and “pretty privilege” was a main reason that Indiana Fever basketball star Caitlin Clark has gained so much popularity.
“I do think that there is a thing called pretty privilege. There is a thing called White privilege. There is a thing called tall privilege, and we have to acknowledge that, and so part of it is about race, because if you think about the Brittney Griners of the world, why did she have to go to play in Russia? Because they wouldn’t pay her,” Hostin said, referring to the WNBA.
The co-hosts of “The View” were discussing former ESPN analyst Jemele Hill’s claim that Clark was only popular because of her race and physical appearance.
Earlier in the discussion, Hostin also added that she had no issue with Clark bringing more popularity to the WNBA.
“Now, Caitlin Clark is bringing this money, these sponsorships, we hope, into the league and other players will benefit from it. But I do think that she is more relatable to more people because she’s White, because she’s attractive, and unfortunately, there still is that stigma against the LGBTQ+ community. Seventy percent of the WNBA is Black. A third of the players are in the LGBTQ+ community and we have to do something about that stigma in this country. I think people have a problem with basketball playing women that are lesbians. Who cares? They are great athletes,” she said.
In response, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said that she had turned into a bigger fan of the WNBA because Clark was “so fun to watch,” noting that it had nothing to do with the color of her skin.
Another co-host of the program, Whoopi Goldberg, also highlighted that she and Hostin have been trying to bring attention to the WNBA for the past several years.
“These women are often times equal if not better, sometimes, than the folks you’re watching,” she added.
“Sometimes better than the guys!” Hostin asserted.
Additionally, Goldberg also argued against Hill’s comments and expressed that Clark was getting attention simply because she is a fantastic player.
“To have her reduced that way bothered me a lot because this is her record,” Goldberg said, pointing to her note card. “Unless you can show me who’s got a better record than this, this is why she’s getting the attention she’s getting, because she’s a damn good player and doesn’t matter whether she’s straight or gay, ain’t nobody crying when she’s making those balls.”
Meanwhile, Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, fired back at Hostin on social media and called out her simple-minded racism.
On X, Portnoy quoted a Mail Sport story on Hostin’s comments and wrote: “Somebody tell this racist all these players are superstars and white and nobody cared till Caitlin Clark. It’s the way she plays.”
He then listed out other superstar basketball players who happen to also be White and in the WNBA: “Dianna Turassi – Paige Buckets – Cameron Brink – Sue Bird – Ella Del Donne – Breanna Stewart – Sabrina Ionescu – Kelsey Plum.”
Clark is considered one of the greatest women’s college basketball players of all-time, especially after her four historic seasons at Iowa.
She became the all-time NCAA Division I men’s and women’s scoring leader during her college career.
Clark’s Indiana Fever team are 0-5 to start the season, and Clark is attributed with bringing in a record $2 million in ticket revenue in last weekend’s game against the New York Liberty.
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