Caitlin Clark and the question of "white privilege."

During the 1987 NBA Eastern Conference finals, Larry Bird helped Boston win the crucial Game Five by stealing the ball from Isaiah Thomas and feeding Dennis Johnson for the winning basket. The Celtics went on to win the hotly-contested seven-game series.

Immediately after the final game, a three-point Celtic victory, a reporter asked Dennis Rodman and Thomas about Bird. Rodman responded:

He ain't the best player in the NBA, not to me. He's white. That's the reason he gets the MVP award. Nobody gives Magic Johnson credit. He deserved it last year, too. I don't care. Go ahead and tell him. You'll put it in the paper anyway.

Thomas went even further:

I think Larry is a very, very good basketball player. He's an exceptional talent. But I have to agree with Rodman. If he were black, he'd be just another good guy.

To me these quotes stand mainly for the proposition that sports leagues should impose cooling-off periods before they permit reporters to question athletes on the losing side of season-ending playoff games. But they also provide a glimpse into how black NBA players regarded a white superstar who had taken the league by a storm.

I couldn’t help thinking of Thomas and Bird when Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by a storm, to the obvious resentment of some of that league’s black players. I thought of Thomas and Bird again when Clark said there is an element of “white privilege” to her stardom.

Clark has been criticized for doing so. I don’t think she deserves to be.

Here is the statement that produced the controversy:

I want to say I’ve earned everything, but as a white person, there is privilege,” she said candidly. “A lot of the players who have made this league what it is are Black women. The more we appreciate, highlight, and talk about that, the better. Brands and companies need to continue investing in those players who have made this league extraordinary. Elevating Black women is a beautiful thing, and I have to keep working to help change that

The thrust of the statement is a recognition of the outstanding WNBA players, mostly black, who came before Clark. Expressing appreciation for these players is commendable.

As for “white privilege,” Clark is making a limited claim. She’s not adopting — in fact, she’s rejecting — the view that she has white privilege in the sense that this phrase is often used. “White privilege” typically is used to disparage the accomplishments of whites. In the words of the activist who helped popularize the concept, it’s “an invisible package of unearned assets.” (Emphasis added)

Clark correctly points out that she earned everything she has gained through basketball. She earned it by working endlessly to develop a shooting range no other female (and nearly almost no other male) has ever possessed. She earned it by developing her body to the point that it can withstand the blows inflicted by opponents (some of which are probably inflicted due to jealousy or, perhaps, racism).

Accordingly, there is nothing to Megyn Kelly’s knee-jerk take that Clark was indulging in “self-flagellation.” In no way did Clark disparage her own accomplishments or accept blame for the fact that she’s become such a star.

Where, then (if at all), does white privilege enter into it? I think Clark is suggesting that her “brand” and the extent to which companies “invest” in her exceeds what would be the case if she were black.

Is this true? It might be. To be sure, black stars have built even bigger brands and had more endorsements than Clark. Michael Jordan is the best example. But the Jordan brand was built on several years of great performance and enhanced by serial championships. The Clark brand was built on a great college career and one very impressive, but not epic pro season.

It’s difficult to come up with a black star with whom to compare Clark at this point in her career. Maybe Magic Johnson with his great college career and rookie season. But with Magic, we’re talking about a different league, a different era, and a somewhat different skill set.

Maybe Steph Curry. But unlike Clark, Curry wasn’t regarded as a sure-fire star coming out of college. In fact, he wasn’t drafted until the seventh pick and was not named NBA rookie-of-the-year.

I think it’s impossible, then, to say with confidence where Clark would stand in the public’s estimation if she were black. But let’s assume that her standing would be a bit less. Does this mean she has “white privilege?”

Not in my view. For me, “white privilege” is a loaded term that should not be deployed when speculating about whether similarly situated whites and blacks would receive the same level of publicity and adulation. “White privilege” connotes something more sinister than a somewhat elevated Q score.

Of course race and ethnicity can play a role in whom we select as our sports heroes, at least if we’re talking about minority populations. Sandy Koufax will always have a special place in the hearts of Jewish baseball fans of a certain age. Jeremy Lin, who had a short run as a quality NBA starter, was idolized by Asian-American sports fans. There was even a name for it — Linsanity. Many Latinos were totally into Juan Marichal, Roberto Clemente, and/or Fernando Valenzuela.

Blacks tend to tilt towards black stars, as many, including Dennis Rodman, did in the Magic vs. Bird debate. Whites may tilt the other way, but I’m not sure we do. I think Magic was better than Bird. So do many of my white basketball fan friends. And most of my white baseball fan friends think Willie Mays was better than Mickey Mantle.

In any case, as I said, “white privilege” is the wrong term to use in accounting for differences in the marketability of highly compensated athletes of different races.

In sum, I don’t think Caitlin Clark has “white privilege” in the sense that the term usually is used. Nor is it clear to me that she has it even in the limited sense that she used it.

But it’s not unreasonable for Clark to think that she white privilege in that sense. Therefore, I don’t fault her for saying so.

And, again, I commend Clark for acknowledging the contributions of the black WNBA players who inspired her and helped keep the league afloat. I just hope that the league’s current black players recognize that if Clark were black, she wouldn’t be “just another good gal.”