The lights have always shined brightly on Caitlin Clark, and the woman with the vast world of women’s basketball on her shoulders has never shied away. Not from the attention, not from the scrutiny, not from her deep-seated belief that she also walks on the shoulders of giants.

And she always drew anger for that.

In interviews for her Time Magazine Athlete of the Year award, Clark spoke at length about the racial underpinnings behind her explosion to stardom in a sport and league historically dominated by black women.

And Megyn Kelly was disgusted.

“Look at this,” the media personality wrote in a post to X Tuesday. “(Clark) is on his knee as good as apologizing for knowing and drawing attention. The self-flagellation. The “Oh (please) pay attention to the black players who are really (sic) the ones you want to celebrate.” Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad.”

Clark told Time in her interview: “I want to say I deserve everything, but as a white person there is privilege. A lot of these players in the league that were really good were black players. This league was built on them.

“The more we appreciate that, highlight that, talk about it and then continue to have brands and companies invest in the players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to keep trying to change that.

“The more we can uplift black women,” Clark concluded, “that will be a beautiful thing.”

In numerous media appearances, Clark has cited the Black players who built the game: Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Dawn Staley and Maya Moore.

Their legacies cannot be disputed, but their influences pale in comparison to Clark’s.

The narrative that women’s basketball is “a moment” has become as ubiquitous as the record setting. Record on the court. In television values. At the box office. In sponsorship income. In merchandising sales. The list goes on.

And as this narrative has grown, so has the racist one. The theme has – and always will – loom large over Clark’s story.

The moment this narrative blossomed into the cultural consciousness came with the clock on the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball title game.

Angel Reese of the future national champion Lsu Tigers pointed to the joint of her finger, showing Clark for Clark where her championship ring would sit, and also made a “you can’t see me” gesture.

The taunt changed Reese’s life. Clark’s too.

The presumed rivalry between Reese and Clark has been a constant theme in the sport’s booming growth ever since.

“I don’t understand that (perception) at all,” Clark said. “We’re not best friends by any means, but we respect each other a lot. Yes, we had enormous battles. But when have I ever guarded her? And when did she guard me? “