Jemele Hill is always causing a stir.
In an interview with Uproxx, Hill discussed University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark’s impact on the women’s game.
“I think the media is very centered on centering Caitlin Clark in everything and pouring a huge share of the coverage behind her, which is definitely understandable,” Hill told Uproxx in an interview. “Because if she is the lightning bolt that is striking everything, then of course it makes sense to really cover the lightning bolt.
“But I think the media is treating it as if there’s just this anomaly that’s come along, and all we have to do is pay attention to an anomaly — and not overall the fact that the sport, before she really began catching the eye of the national public, was gaining a tremendous amount of traction.”
Jemele Hill asserts that the media’s portrayal of Caitlin Clark as the sole reason for the growth in popularity of women’s basketball is inaccurate. She argues that the sport had already been experiencing an upward trend in popularity before Clark’s emergence as a phenom.
Hill added:
“If you look at WNBA ratings or women’s college basketball ratings, they have been exploding for at least the last seven to ten years — or I would even say five to seven if you want a shorter window. And so, it’s been proven that people really enjoy the sport. They enjoy the stars in the sport, but they enjoy the sport itself. And I’m not completely convinced that the media understands the difference.”
Knowing that her comments would cause a stir on social media, Hill tried to jump ahead of it and display what she said during the interview in its entirety.
Clark is currently in the process of trying to lead her Iowa Hawkeyes to the Final Four of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
The first-seeded Hawkeyes will be taking on the fifth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday afternoon with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight.
