Lisa Bluder pushes back on Mystics owner's criticism of Caitlin Clark Time honor

Caitlin Clark's former college coach, Lisa Bluder, thinks it's time for everyone around the WNBA — including Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson — to "embrace" how Clark's stardom has provided a boost for women's basketball.

Following a 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year season with the Indiana Fever, Clark was named Time magazine's Athlete of the Year, a decision Johnson, the billionaire founder of BET network, said she disagreed with.

In an interview earlier this week with CNN Sports, Johnson said that "the structure of the way media plays out race" was a factor in Clark receiving the honor and argued that Time should have instead "put the whole WNBA on that cover, and said the WNBA is the League of the Year."

Speaking with USA TODAY's Sports Seriously, Bluder — who in May retired after 24 seasons coaching the Iowa Hawkeyes, where Clark played from 2020-24 — disagreed, insisting that Clark's impact on women's sports is historic.




https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2024/12/17/lisa-bluder-mystics-sheila-johnson-catilin-clark-time-magazine/77052585007/