How South Carolina women’s basketball became the Great Black Hope

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Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed and the views expressed are those of the writer. read more opinions on Grio.

On July 4, 1910, exactly 134 years after the founding fathers unanimously proclaimed their belief that each one men are created equal, American white sports fans took it back.

A Black West Virginian who was “cornered by the crowd and hanged” was certainly one of a whole bunch of Black people across the country who were attacked, shot or killed during certainly one of the deadliest race riots in history. AND New York a mob beat a Negro to death; one other blocked the door to an apartment constructing in the Black neighborhood and set it on fire. An Omaha, Nebraska man was strangled to death in a barber’s chair. 1st century Houston“Charles Williams, a Negro fighting enthusiast, was cut from ear to ear on a streetcar by a white man because the Negro announced too loudly that he appreciated Jack Johnson’s victory at Reno.”

The Great White Hope he lost.

Black joy inspiring racial hatred just isn’t distinctive Johnson-Jeffries race riots. Despite what a “cowardly dog” expert he’s. Emmanuel Acho believes that nothing in American society has ever been “gender neutral” or “race neutral.” Like politics, music and each aspect of American culture, American sports have all the time had a racial element. After Jackie Robinson broke the color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Black baseball fans in other cities, they flocked to Dodgers games. NFL gentlemen’s agreement limiting the variety of black players allowed the fledgling American Football League to achieve a stronghold, ultimately resulting in an interleague matchup generally known as the “Super Bowl” University rivalry between 1979 Most Outstanding Player, Magic Johnson and “Great White Hope“Larry Bird ushered in a new era of professional basketball.

So when the University of South Carolina faced the University of Iowa on Sunday in the NCAA women’s basketball championship, everyone knew which African American team wanted to win. In most team competitions, there are usually only two sides; Black Americans are no different than other sports fans. In a country where there has never been a level playing field, it’s understandable why black Americans root for quarterbacks, coaches and players who look like them and share a common ancestry. Identifying with someone because they look similar to you or have the same heritage is not necessarily racist.

The same goes for white people.

While people who “see no color” (except Celtic green and shades of the Confederate flag) think that talking about race will melt the polar ice caps, it’s great to acknowledge the individual cultural, racial and ethnic differences that make up the American tapestry. It’s natural that white people wanted Caitlin Clark to emerge victorious. And with more white people in the country, it’s no mystery how a white Midwestern “girl next door” on a majority-white team in a predominantly white state became the darling of her sport. Plus, Clark is really, really good. Blacks didn’t share the new Great White Hope of women’s hoops any more than they hated Jim Jeffries, the Celtics, or the Green Bay Packers; they just rooted for all the black people.

Moreover, it’s not Caitlin Clark’s fault that white people went too far. White America turning Iowa’s opponents into villains to justify its fandom was not of its making. She likely disagreed with Los Angeles Times columnist Ben Bolch, who referred to the LSU Tigers as “dirty debutantes” and the social media trolls who called the Gamecocks “Poor college franchise” Clark did not ask her followers to demonize black women as “ghetto” and “classless” as Angel Reese mocked her trash-talking opponent. The Iowa players had nothing to do with it CNN’s post-game headline mentioning Caitlin Clark as a substitute of this Most outstanding player, Kamilla Cardoso. Clark didn’t tweet obscenely racist insults towards SC coach Dawn Staley and its players; her fans did it. Clark is probably still wondering where the hell all these Iowa fans came from.

Honestly, the passengers on the Caitlin Clark train appreciate her for altruistic reasons. Describing her college achievements would require a separate article, but she is worthy of every accolade she has received. Her admirers have legitimate reasons to call her the greatest college basketball player of all time. However, there is no denying that white privilege adds to the legend of Caitlin Clark. While it turned out to be excellent, the “mainstream appeal” it enjoys is a reflection of white America’s admiration for one of their own.

Perhaps that’s where the confusion comes from. The exercise of white privilege is not necessarily racist; it’s natural. Just as Clark didn’t ask referees to call a last-minute foul that helped her team defeat a Final Four opponent, there are white people in the classrooms and suites of Ivy League executives who had no say in creating the systemic advantages that fueled them towards your goals. It’s not their fault that America has built a pedestal to exalt whiteness.

However, due to history and lived experiences, Black fans are acutely aware of the racial dynamics at play. For them, the Gamecocks’ perfect season is made more admirable when you consider how they have handled the combination of hate, sexism and white supremacy. Black women’s college basketball fans rooted for Staley’s team in the same way that previous generations of black sports enthusiasts had rallied around the Dodgers, Lakers or Kansas City Chiefs. They recognize the resentment associated with the pursuit of Black excellence. Even the prospect can unite the country into a nationwide murderous mob. It can cause an entire nation to reject history, truth and democracy itself.

Ultimately, sports are only a microcosm of society. No matter how hard we try, history cannot level the playing field where there is competition. This is why Black America exploded with joy after New York Times he predicted that the black heavyweight champion would cause “his unwitting brothers… to misinterpret his victory as justifying a claim to greater than mere physical equality with their white neighbor.” That’s also the reason Edward L. Blackshear, the president of historically Black Prarie View A&M College, pleaded with the boxing commission to cancel the Johnson-Jeffries fight a day after the Los Angeles Times published a racist article. “But if Johnson wins, anti-Negro sentiment will quickly and dangerously turn into a ready counterattack to any unwarranted display of Negro joy.” – Blackshear he wrote. “Racial prejudice is already severe enough in the United States. The fight should be canceled.”

And no, Caitlin Clark didn’t ask for any of that. She didn’t want to become America’s Great White Hope, just as Black America didn’t want to bear the burden of white supremacy. However, Clark’s status as “delicate star” is an element of the privilege he enjoys. Meanwhile, Angel Reese, the tournament’s reigning Most Outstanding Player, was reduced to the role of “the one who mocks” in an epic battle of “good versus evil.” For many black fans, that is yet one more example of the hidden bigotry that black women carry in silence.

In former NBA player and college basketball legend Rex Chapman’s memoir, “I’m Hard to Live With,” the high-flying basketball prodigy tells a story about “the worst thing he’s ever heard.” As a highschool sophomore, Chapman realized why his all-white basketball team “never plays in a half-full gym.” One night, a big, rugged-looking white man with an extended “ZZ-Top” beard hugged Chapman after a game in rural Kentucky as in the event that they were old friends. While the man was trying to precise why he loves watching Chapman, the remark also illustrates America’s admiration for Caitlin Clark, the privilege that whiteness affords, and the casual bigotry that blackness inspires – even on the most equal terms of all.

“I love watching you play,” the stranger said.

“You play like a nigger, but you can be white.”

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