The fight is not over yet.
Attorneys for Bobbie Jo “BJ” Throckmorton filed a lawsuit in Pinhead County, Oklahoma on Wednesday demanding that Caitlin Clark retract all claims and statements that Clark is the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball.
Clark, who now plays professionally for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA, probably set the college points record during her 16-year career at the University of Iowa.
Clark’s tenure in Iowa City was long enough to make her eligible for the position of chancellor of the school, and she has discussed that possibility with the Iowa Board of Regents.
However, Throckmorton’s battery of lawyers — who insist that blocking the official score would be worth “trillions of Washington” — is seeking an injunction that could prevent Clark from attending any basketball game (including Saturday’s games at the YMCA) until the case is resolved.
There is confusion about the record because Throckmorton, “The Pinhead Bazooka,” scored more than half a million of her total points while being home-schooled on a ranch outside Cigarette Pack, Oklahoma.
Apparently local records also counted games played on a dirt driveway near the ranch.
The 6-foot-1 Bobbie Jo scored 665 points in her last three games on the driveway.
“It’s not my fault that the younger kids were small,” she said when asked about the competitions and venues of her games.
YES, YESAlmost everything in our “news story” about the legendary BJ Throckmorton was thrown together just for fun.
However.
There has been endless controversy surrounding Caitlin Clark’s records, her popularity and the excitement she brought to the WNBA.
This should be a welcome motivation for women and girls – and indeed, they flock to see the Iowa graduate sink three-point shots from Steph Curry’s distance.
The emergence of Clark – along with another group of stars led by Chicago’s Angel Reese – was a surprising and almost spectacular jolt for the Fever and the entire WNBA.
Even better, Clark and Reese already have a friendly “rivalry” that results in even MORE merchandise being sold.
Everyone seems to be benefiting from this burst of energy, which is giving new impetus to a league that was once quietly successful but now makes headlines on a daily basis.
Aside from the fictional Bobbi Joe Throckmorton, who could possibly object to this new “wow!” factor in the WNBA?
Well, there were several grumpy veterans who carried the league when it continued as the UConn Alumni Association.
That’s who.
Many former UConn stars who have been in the spotlight in the WNBA are not exactly thrilled about these newcomers to the neighborhood.
One of the big stars of “Caitlin Who?”, however, is Lynette Woodard – the league’s first top scorer (and former Kansas player) who eventually played for the Globetrotters.
Woodard questioned Clark’s college performance for two reasons.
Caitlin played five seasons, while Woodard (and most other notable players) only played four seasons.
In addition, the players in Woodard’s time used the same, larger ball as the men.
IN THE MEANTIMEClark didn’t argue with anyone.
Almost.
She just plays ball, signs autographs until dawn and (yes) enjoys the financial fruits of her fame
Maybe it’s the money that makes the difference for many of these other stars.
Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoops gets increasingly testy when she talks about Clark. The topic of Indiana’s performance improvement came up on her podcast and Swoops specifically mentioned four players – but not Clark.
The rookie was actually hard to miss, as Clark averaged 17.8 points and 8.3 assists per game, leading all rookie players in both categories and also leading the entire WNBA in average assists.
This resistance from veterans and former stars is a little bizarre.
If Clark were arrogant, conceited, or just plain unpleasant, you could probably understand why other players would argue for her to be a better face for the league.
But that’s not the problem.
NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe suggested a different reason on his ESPN show.
He thinks the other players are just plain jealous.
Sharpe referred to an incident a week ago when the Storm’s Skylar Diggins-Smith went out of his way to knock Clark down at the start of a timeout.
Sharpe had an idea.
“If I were Caitlin Clark, I would have told Skylar Diggins, ‘Grab your coat, your brim and get out of our gym. Everyone stop this nonsense,'” Sharpe said.
I like it.
Save this for later use, Caitlin.
Email: [email protected]
Steve Cameron’s Cheap Seats columns appear four times a week in The Press, usually Tuesday to Friday unless there is something happening.
Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”
