JuJu Watkins Has 4-Word Verdict on Caitlin Clark's Time Athlete of the Year Win
One of the biggest stories in the sports world last month was Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark winning the Time Athlete of the Year award for 2024.
While there wasn't much argument about Clark earning this award, some of her comments in the ensuing Time magazine feature story by Sean Gregory about her using her privilege to "elevate Black women" in basketball received some backlash from select media members.
However, Clark has received much more praise from the basketball community and sports media for these comments than negative feedback.
The most recent person to give their opinion on Clark's award win and privilege comments are USC Trojans superstar sophomore JuJu Watkins, who is currently pursuing Clark's NCAA scoring record.
Watkins was asked about Clark winning the Time award in a January 8 article from FOX News' Jackson Thompson.
"I'm all for it," Watkins said.
"I honestly think she deserves it. I don't think anyone has changed the trajectory of the sport so much, so I honestly think she deserves every bit of it," she added.
Watkins was asked about Clark's comments about White privilege in Sean Gregory's Time article specifically, and said, "It's super dope. For her to kind of bring that to light was cool."
It's undeniable that Clark has brought an unprecedented amount of new fans to the sport of women's basketball. While these added eyeballs are good for the sport's growth, it also puts the athletes under a microscope and makes them susceptible to added criticism.
Watkins addressed this in the FOX News article by saying, "So many new fans being in the sport sometimes can be, not necessarily challenging, but can just kind of give you a headache a bit. Not a lot of people know what they're talking about sometimes. But it's great for the sport. The fact that people are watching is enough in itself.
"We would like it to be positive, but it's not always going to be like that, so as long as we continue to raise the numbers and viewership goes up, I think that's all we can ask for," she added.
When Watkins was asked by Thompson if she wanted the sport's controversial new fans to cheer for her she said, "Oh yeah. I love supporters and I also love haters.
"I think that's just a part of the game. There's so many sides to it. So it's the nature of the game and there's always going to be negative and positive aspects of it," she continued.
Juju’s take on “new fans” in women’s basketball and Clark winning Time magazine AOTY pic.twitter.com/E563yBCRuB
— CC (@CC22_clark) January 8, 2025
Watkins and Clark never played each other in college. While fans will have to wait until 2027 (when Watkins is WNBA Draft eligible) until they can, the showdowns to come between them will surely be worth the wait.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.