Hall Of Famer Nancy Lieberman On Caitlin Clark: 'We Should Celebrate Her, Not Tolerate Her'

Towards the beginning of her WNBA career, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark faced a lot, and I mean a lot, of unjustified hatred.

Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson said that Clark was only getting attention because she is white. Multiple players on the Chicago Sky have taken it upon themselves to commit flagrant fouls on her. And she was left off the Olympic team for absolutely no good reason.

Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates after scoring against the Chicago Sky during a game last week. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Now, some of this is just the arbitrary flack you get when you’re popular. But a lot of it was fueled by jealousy, hatred, and in a few cases, racism - and it made no sense. Why would so many people, in a league desperate for attention, bully the player who is finally giving them a lot of attention? 

If you can make it make sense, send me your hypothesis: john.simmons@outkick.com.

However, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member Nancy Lieberman - a phenomenal player and coach in past years - knows that Clark is special. And she’s not afraid to say it.

Before the Fever’s game against the Dallas Wings today, Lieberman (a Wings color commentator) met up with the rookie sensation before the game began.

And during the broadcast, she gave Clark a lot of praise.

"We should celebrate Caitlin Clark, not (tolerate) her," Lieberman said. "Thank you Caitlin for uplifting the game and what you are doing for our league."

I can just hear Robbie Hart from "Wedding Singer" saying, "See, even Nancy Lieberman gets it."

This is what WNBA fans and Caitlin Clark supporters have been getting at for a while. We don’t need to celebrate every little play she makes, but we also should give her due credit for all she’s done to bring some popularity to the WNBA.

If more people followed Lieberman’s example, the WNBA would probably be better off.