Do people only like Caitlin Clark because she’s white?

As insane as it might be to read that line, it’s apparently a very real belief Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson has. Clark makes her WNBA regular season debut in Connecticut Tuesday night with the Fever against the Sun, and you’d think all the talk would be about the game.

It’s not. Instead, Wilson has decided to make the Indiana Fever rookie being the most popular women’s basketball player in the country about race.

A’ja Wilson says Caitlin Clark has appeal because she’s white.

“I think it’s a huge thing. I think a lot of people may say it’s not about black and white, but to me, it is. It really is because you can be top notch at what you are as a black woman, but yet maybe that’s something that people don’t want to see,” Wilson told The Associated Press when asked about what role race might play with Clark’s appeal.

She further added, “They don’t see it as marketable, so it doesn’t matter how hard I work. It doesn’t matter what we all do as black women, we’re still going to be swept underneath the rug. That’s why it boils my blood when people say it’s not about race because it is.”

Her comments were made to The AP prior to her shoe deal with Nike going public.

WNBA star A’ja Wilson claims Caitlin Clark is popular because she’s white. (Photo by Matt Kryger/NBAE via Getty Images)

If Wilson is going to make such an absurd claim, she should come with some very specific facts. What exactly is there to prove that Caitlin Clark is only popular because she’s white while black players are “swept underneath the rug”? Wilson has the obligation to be hyper-specific if she’s going to make a claim like this.

Caitlin Clark is popular because she’s the most prolific scorer major women’s college basketball has ever seen. She elevated the entire sport. The former Iowa superstar brought women’s basketball out of the dark and put it under the spotlight.

The ratings for her national title game loss to South Carolina set a record at just under 19 million viewers. Caitlin Clark was appointment television at the college level because she was that talented. It has nothing to do with race. Nothing. If it does, then Wilson should provide us with all the evidence to back up such an outrageous claim.

Will Caitlin Clark elevate the WNBA? (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

We really need to get past the point where every conversation has to be focused on the color of someone’s skin. Clark is a generational talent and new face of the WNBA. Wilson is also a great player. There’s no need to make this something it’s not.