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Sports are supposed to be a place for competition, not moral theater. So when a columnist decided to drag Jim Crow and Emmett Till into a critique of Caitlin Clark’s on-court theatrics, she crossed a line. Megyn Kelly and Emily Jashinsky tore into that same column on the show, and for good reason: this is not journalism, it’s performative outrage that cheapens real history and attacks an athlete for being successful and visible.
Grotesque comparisons dilute real history
Let’s be blunt: invoking Emmett Till and Jim Crow to talk about a basketball move is grotesque. Those were eras of lynching, terror, and legal oppression. A flop on the court is embarrassing and unsportsmanlike in its own way, but it isn’t a moral equivalence to centuries of racial violence. Good journalists know how to measure language. This columnist didn’t. She chose a shock angle instead of clear, honest sports criticism.
It’s not about the play — it’s about identity politics
The larger point here is media bias. When a player like Caitlin Clark rises fast, attracts fans, and energizes a league, some in the press reflexively go negative. Part of that comes from jealousy, and part comes from identity politics: criticize the athlete’s race, gender, or personal life instead of the play. The result is thin, bitter takes that read more like resentment than reporting. Fans who love the game deserve analysis, not sermonizing.
What real sports coverage should focus on
Sportswriters should call out flopping when it affects games. Officials, league rules, and coaching all matter. But critiques should stay inside the sport. Talk about how referees handle contact, how teams adjust defensively, or how a player’s style affects her team. That is useful. Dragging historical trauma into a game of basketball is not.
Newsrooms need a reminder: outrage for clicks destroys credibility. If journalists want to hold athletes accountable, they should do it honestly and fairly — not by weaponizing history to get attention. Caitlin Clark is a headline-grabber because she plays well and draws fans. Treat her like the player she is, not a symbol in a culture-war essay. The rest of us just want the ball to bounce and the refs to call it straight.
