A couple weekends ago, my daughter Ali was with me in Nashville. She wants to play professional football and we were there alongside thousands of Premier League fans at the NBC Fan Fest.
On Sunday, however, Ali rushed home, making the three-hour trip to ensure he would be back for the start of the national championship game between Iowa and South Carolina.
Ali is a young aspiring soccer player who will soon finish her senior year of high school; She has everything better to do on the weekend. But she decided to rush home to see Caitlin Clark. That says a lot.
Caitlin Clark…wow. She is incredibly amazing. A superstar and a great role model. There are many athletes who are good players but ultimately there is not much substance to back them up when times get tough.
Clark is not extravagant, she is not eccentric in the way she dresses or plays. There is something healthy and pure in that. Watching her, you feel that there is still some greatness in sports.
Caitlin Clark was selected by the Indiana Fever with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.
Tim Howard and his daughter Ali, an aspiring soccer player, at the NBC Fan Fest in Nashville
Nearly 19 million fans tuned in to watch Clark’s Iowa take on South Carolina in March Madness
DailyMail.com sports columnist Tim Howard.
He keeps his mouth shut, walks, asks for the ball in big moments and puts the team on his back. When he fails, he handles it with grace and dignity. How powerful is that?
I would be surprised if this wasn’t the time women’s sports took off. There are more eyes on it and the dollar signs always follow. As a father of a daughter who wants to play professionally, you hope there are more Caitlin Clarks in the near future. Time will tell.
However, after Caitlin was drafted by the Indiana Fever, even Joe Biden had a say over her WNBA contract. The number one pick should make $76,000 in his rookie year, should he make more? Of course. Should all female athletes receive more money? Of course.
I talked to my daughter about equal pay and told her: If you’re ever in a position to be part of a union or labor association, you fight like hell to get what you think you’re worth.
Clark will help. A rising tide lifts all boats. The more people watch basketball and put their money into it, only all women and women’s sports will benefit.
The Fever star’s introductory press conference was overshadowed by a storm of sexism
Unfortunately, this week also highlighted that we still have a long way to go when it comes to our treatment of women.
A journalist’s comments at Clark’s introductory press conference have shed light on the way we see them, the way we talk to them and the way we value them.
My daughter is going to college next year and that will bring incredible opportunities, but I always try to teach. And when these things come up, we quickly engage in the conversation and say, there’s still bias out there, barriers still need to be broken down. Maybe she can be part of that.
At this point, Clark will be the face of the WNBA at just 22 years old. That brings a lot of pressure. Women’s college basketball has really come to the fore in recent years: there have been controversies and trash talk… and it’s all good for the game.
But Caitlin has continued to play at an elite level. When they criticized her during difficult times, she overcame herself. That’s hard to do and says a lot about who she is as a woman and as an athlete.
Indiana Fever star harassed by autograph hunters at this week’s draft in New York
If someone approached me, I responded with my claws out and showing my teeth. But he has a lot of class in his handling on and off the court.
He really hasn’t put a foot wrong. But I have played alongside other young superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and the truth? We want to see people rise, but we also like to see him fall. We don’t want anyone to be too high for too long. We want to find holes in them and we want to delight in their disappearance. Is that how it works.
You have to realize that not everyone wants you to do well. And unfortunately, very few athletes manage to achieve fame, fortune and the spotlight. It’s a difficult mix.
NIL means you had a little money in your pocket in college. But guess that? Now she will have much more and will have complete freedom to do what she wants. So to do it right, she has to be self-aware.
I never met Caitlin. Maybe some day. I guess I’ll have to go to a Fever game.