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Caitlin Clark was tormented by fouls during her first WNBA season.
People assume women's basketball is getting more violent with the introduction of this heavily covered rookie. But the fact is women's basketball has always been physical; people are just now watching more closely.
I have played basketball since I was eight years old. In the 12 years I have played, I have seen brutal injuries because of the competitive nature of women athletes.
In middle school, my coach used to throw basketballs at the girls' heads. Although weird, he thought that made us tougher and stronger as a team.
It worked.
The brutality of the sport started for me at an early age. I knew that to win, you must be willing to put yourself and your body on the line.
In high school, as an upperclassman, I helped out and played in a junior varsity game. Easy enough. I would score to cushion my stats for the year.
On one play, I stood at the block on defense, staring at a girl barreling toward me. I decided, in a split second, to take a charge.
I stood completely still, waiting for her to take her layup. Then ... boom! I fell to the ground, hitting my head.
I could not see or stand for a minute or two until the athletic trainer helped me off the court. It was a brutal offensive foul that left me with a concussion.
Now, playing Division III basketball, I see so many flagrant fouls on girls who are too good at scoring to be stopped. We are taught to foul anyone taking a wide-open layup but when doing so we must ensure the ball does not reach the basket.
It's a simple defensive strategy. It is used in youth teams all the way to the WNBA. With someone as talented as Clark, she will be fouled hard often to ensure she does not get an easy score.
The WNBA has always centered around women's basketball being a contact sport.
In Clark's case, she is the third-most fouled athlete in the league. Why? Not because she is famous. It's because she is good.
Clark is a hard player to stop on offense. This sometimes leads to hard fouls that prevent her from scoring. She averages almost 20 points a game as the No. 1 draft pick. She usually either scores or gains an assist if the ball is in her hands.
This type of athlete will have the best defender covering her, trying everything they can to prevent her from dominating the game.
Clark admits that basketball is a physical game and being fouled is a part of that. She will continue to get fouled, and it will continue to be put in the news because Clark does get fouled more than most players in the WNBA.
Sydney Barnett
Suwannee, Georgia
(The writer is a junior on the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team.)