The job of a columnist is to give his or her opinion on a specific topic.
While that certainly happened when USA Today columnist Nancy Armour wrote about Caitlin Clark’s recent flopping and foul complaints on Thursday, many thought the writer crossed a line by drawing a parallel between the current WNBA, Clark fans, and the 1955 Emmett Till murder case.
Till, who was 14 years old at the time, was kidnapped and killed in Mississippi by white men after they accused the young Black boy of whistling at the wife of one of his killers.
Two white men were arrested for Till’s murder before being acquitted by an all-white jury, sparking outrage that further energized the civil rights movement in the United States.
“It shouldn’t need reminding this country has an awful history of Black people being harmed, even killed, in the name of ‘defending’ white women,” Armour wrote in her opinion column.
Caitlin Clark’s Flopping Antics Captured in Viral Video
“The irony of the WNBA’s All-Star Game is that it’s happening this weekend in Chicago, the hometown of Emmett Till, who became an icon of the civil rights movement after his tragic murder. The local art gallery is currently hosting an exhibit imagining his life if he hadn’t been lynched.
“While it’s incumbent on the WNBA to do more to protect its players, there also should be an expectation on Clark to recognize the wider consequences of her actions.”
Armour’s column quickly drew backlash across social media.
“There is a section/paragraph in this story that is among the most insane choices to include I’ve ever read in any sports story from a serious publication,” Basketball writer Sam Vecenie wrote on X. “Like, the kind of crazy where I genuinely have no idea how an editor let it get through.”
While recent racist attacks online and death threats against Black WNBA players should be treated seriously by the league and fans, laying that all at the feet of Clark seems misguided.
The decision to assign Clark blame gives cover to the actual people committing these racist acts, while they use her as a vehicle to express feelings they may have harbored long before the Indiana Fever star ever stepped on the court.
Additionally, any on-court sports subject pales in comparison to the tragedy and impact of Till’s murder.
Following the criticism for her column, Armour released a statement to clarify her position.
“In my recent column, I made an inartful comparison with the murder of Emmett Till,” Armour wrote. “I intended to connect the issues the WNBA is currently facing with its All-Star Game being hosted in Till’s hometown of Chicago.
“I obviously did not provide enough context for that.”
“I sincerely regret that my lack of appropriate context is overshadowing that important conversation and the action that needs to be taken by the WNBA to address it directly – for the benefit of ALL players,” Armour added.
Bookmark another chapter in the polarizing saga of Cailtin Clark and the WNBA, with no foreseeable end in sight.
