A’ja Wilson climbed up the ranks to be one of the best WNBA players. However, she sees her path as a Black athlete to be difficult compared to Caitlin Clark, who is aware of her privilege as a white athlete.
Wilson reflected on that double standard in an interview with TIME. She made the magazine’s cover for “Women of the Year,” joining fellow female athletes who were honored for their achievements.
Reporter Lucy Feldman asked her about Clark, who got some blowback after making comments on having certain privileges as a white player, and that she wants to do what she can to help ensure Black players get more visibility and investment. A’ja Wilson was proud of Clark for standing up for players like her.
“As a Black woman in the WNBA, we have our struggles in showcasing who we really are. A lot of agendas get pushed on a lot of different platforms that may shadow us. You work so hard, but you still have to work 10 times harder just to be seen. So when we can have our counterparts speak up, it speaks volumes to me, because they’re in spaces where my path is never supposed to go,” she said.
“I know [Clark] got a lot of backlash from that, because obviously we live in a world where they don’t want that, and it’s exhausting. But imagine dealing with that and then having to go out and play every single night, having to constantly have to worry, How are they about to downgrade my resume now? What more do I have to do in order to showcase how elite and how serious I take my job? But I also do it with love and passion and fun.”
A’ja Wilson, Aces prepare for 2025 season
It’s noteworthy for A’ja Wilson to have respect for Caitlin Clark highlighting key issues happening in sports, specifically women’s basketball.
In the meantime, Wilson remains fully committed to the Las Vegas Aces as the team’s leader. She is coming off her third WNBA MVP Award last year, winning her first two in 2020 and 2022. She also became the first WNBA player to score 1,000 points in a season throughout 2024.
Las Vegas finished 27-13 in the regular season, good for the fourth best record in the league. They fell short of a three-peat, losing to the New York Liberty in four games during the semifinals.
The Aces’ 2025 season-opener will take place on May 17 against the New York Liberty at 3 p.m. ET.
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