WNBA star Caitlin Clark has faced quite a bit of criticism early in her WNBA career. During an interview at the Tribeca Film Festival, tennis legend Serena Williams stated that she hopes that Clark can continue to drown out the negativity and stay "grounded."
Williams was asked about the abundance of attention that Clark has dealt with since being selected as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever. Clark has previously mentioned that she tunes out social media.
"I love that she tries to stay grounded. She says she doesn't look at her social [media]. I get it. I don't either," Williams said regarding Clark. "I think it's so important to just continue to do what she's doing. No matter what other people do. If people are negative, it's because they can't do what you do. Hopefully she'll continue to do what she's doing."
Clark has had her ups and downs throughout her rookie season. The former Iowa standout recently missed the cut for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics -- which quickly became a polarizing topic in the sports world.
"People should not be using my name to push those agendas," Clark said last week. "It's disappointing. It's not acceptable. Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it's just a basic human thing that everybody should do."
Much like Clark, Williams noted that she was met with a large amount of criticism and harassment when she and her sister, Venus Williams, began their tennis careers.
"I was bullied. Things that I had to go through, people would be canceled for saying now," Williams said. "My position in growing up, as a teenager, I kind of had to be guarded to kind of stay sane. Just [getting] so much press and doing everything I was doing and traveling the globe every year. It was every week. It was a grind."
Regardless of what she's faced, Clark has put together averages of 16.1 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 38.3% from the field.
