Whitlock: Caitlin Clark is Tiger Woods while Angel Reese is Fuzzy Zoeller

The basketball establishment is reacting to Caitlin Clark much the same way the golf establishment reacted to Tiger Woods 25 years ago.

Most of the establishment is overjoyed. They see the opportunity, attention, and cash the Iowa basketball star can bring to the women’s game. And then there’s the contingent of bigots, the people fearful that Clark’s ascension will diminish them.

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and LSU center Angel Reese are the leaders of the latter group. They’re Fuzzy Zoeller. Tiger Woods triggered Zoeller.

You remember Fuzzy? He won the 1979 Masters and the 1984 U.S. Open. More than those victories, Zoeller is remembered for the racist and mean-spirited comments he made toward Tiger Woods during the final round of the 1997 Masters.

“He’s doing quite well, pretty impressive,” Zoeller told reporters. “That little boy is driving well, and he’s putting well. He’s doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say, ‘Congratulations and enjoy it,’ and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Got it.”

Zoeller snapped his fingers and turned away from reporters. He then turned back to say, “Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”

Caitlin Clark, a white basketball star dominating a black sport, triggered Staley and Reese.

Clark’s Hawkeyes upset Staley’s No.1-ranked South Carolina team Friday night in the semifinals of the Final Four. Following the game, Staley deflected attention away from her coaching errors and Clark’s magnificent performance by complaining that unnamed reporters called South Carolina players thugs and monkeys. Staley framed Iowa coach Lisa Bluder’s harmless comment about a rebounding “bar fight” as racist.

Staley invented a racial narrative out of thin air. Corporate media sold Staley’s lies and gossip.

A white reporter egged Staley on, suggesting that the unsubstantiated criticism of Staley’s players was “dangerous.”

LSU players picked up where Staley stopped. The Tigers claimed they were disrespected and upset about the way Iowa defended South Carolina. I’m not joking. The fact that Iowa sagged off South Carolina along the perimeter disrespected LSU.

That was offered as part of the justification for Reese stalking and taunting Clark at the conclusion of LSU’s victory in Sunday’s championship game. Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy and political pundit Keith Olbermann responded to Reese’s classless taunting by topping Reese’s lack of class. Via Twitter, Portnoy called Reese a piece of [poop] and Olbermann called Reese “a f*****g idiot.”

Portnoy's and Olbermann’s tweets justified ESPN’s Jalen Rose connecting the criticism of Reese to Staley’s postgame whining.

“How Angel Reese is being vilified by many highlights exactly what Dawn Staley was talking about,” Rose tweeted.

No. It highlights the stupidity and lack of emotional control of Portnoy and Olbermann. It highlights how social media has ruined public discourse and baits people into dismissing common sense and restraint.

If Twitter had existed in 1997, I’m sure I would have called Fuzzy Zoeller a piece of poop or a f*****g idiot. Luckily, I had editors and I wrote a rational column explaining the obvious animus, jealousy, and bigotry motivating Zoeller’s comments.

Most people in mainstream media rebuked Zoeller in 1997. That’s not the case with Angel Reese in 2023. Most of the corporate media are afraid to criticize Reese. She’s black. Everyone fears the race card.

ESPN’s Ryan Clark pre-emptively played the card via Twitter.

“If you praised Caitlin Clark as competitive, fiery, and passionate for doing the ‘You can’t See me’ celebration and are criticizing Angel Reese for the same we already know!!”

What do we actually know?

We know that Caitlin Clark briefly waved her hand in front of her face in the Elite Eight game against Louisville. The gesture wasn’t directed at any particular player. Clark claims it was directed at an Iowa assistant coach. We know that Clark plays with a bravado, a style, and an air of cockiness that mirrors Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry. Clark is a bit of a hot dog. We know that. Hot dogs are annoying, not classless.

I’m not really a fan of either. But one is worse than the other. What Reese did was classless.

Reese reminds me of college football stars Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield. The two Heisman Trophy winners were widely criticized for their on-field antics. No one called the criticism racist because Manziel and Mayfield are white. In America, it’s appropriate to criticize the poor behavior of white people. We rationalize and sometimes even celebrate the poor behavior of black people.

We rationalize and celebrate the behavior we desire and expect. We want black girls to handle success in a classless manner. We want young black people to prioritize their skin color above all else. Following Sunday’s game, Angel Reese bragged about being ghetto and ‘hood and inspiring other black girls to do the same.

“I’m too ‘hood, I’m too ghetto,” she explained. “Y’all told me that all year. But when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing. So this is for the girls that look like me.”

Reese sounds as misinformed and bigoted as Fuzzy Zoeller. The game of basketball is dominated by black athletes. There’s no shortage of basketball role models for black kids. There’s a glut.

What basketball lacks is a homegrown white American star who plays with flare and style. Basketball needs a Tiger Woods. Dawn Staley and Angel Reese would rather see the game forgo the growth Clark can deliver than see the spotlight on a white star.

We’ve seen all of this before. It will be interesting to see if the bigots break Caitlin Clark.