Suavity is the sorely missing link in the American presidency. The indomitable charisma of Roosevelt or Reagan, Bush or Clinton, projected a certain kind of power. Suave it means a kind of athletic ease and command in a difficult, enlightened situation, an assurance that solutions are close at hand if only we all hold our composure and act fairly. Here’s Barack Obama’s ultimate message to basketball player Caitlin Clark in a small but surprising exchange over WNBA All-Star weekend: It never hurts to be pretty. In fact, it can help you win.
Can you imagine Donald Trump in the same situation, what he would do or say, influence the race and attract the weak? Like Trump it could even smile meeting a WNBA player, that is. He prefers to use league players from far away for his goals. His palace has done WNBA flash action for attacks on transgender athletes, and he and his extremist allies have tried to make Clark the victim of racial abuse in court. Conservatives Congress even called for the federal government to investigate WNBA for civil rights violations due to players abusing her. This is how Trump used another young woman he sees as a rival, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, at the rescheduled White House Press Dinner yesterday, when Obama was visiting WNBA players in Chicago: After Collins received an award for “excellence under ultimate pressure,” Trump yelled from the stage that it was a “fake award, and he didn’t deserve it.” his. It’s not gravity. Not to win.
The WNBA has been hard to watch at times this season, so full of racial tensions, toxic fan behaviorand cancel the lead that it looks like a small world of a country in crisis over foul play in every social sphere. Bad will surrounds Clark, the Indiana Fever’s 24-year-old star guard, who can be either fascinating to watch or tiresome, depending on how down he’s feeling that day. Clark has complained that he is being targeted for hard fouls—and sometimes he is, but not because he is white. Mauling is a guaranteed and timed way to stop an invincible player. Clark is the fastest in league history shoot 200 three-pointersthe first person to score 45 points with 11 assists in a game, and a passer so good that he can make defenses look lost. And Clark has a lot of edge. He can stalk the referees so much that he has received seven technical fouls this season, one of which was due to suspension.
That has done nothing to stabilize a league whose product is torn apart by internal and external rivalries. In mid-June, when Alyssa Thomas of the Phoenix Mercury was suspended for a game for punching Clark in the throat—unknowingly, according to Thomas—she received death threats, faced racial slurs, and led the bad-faith congressional allegations to an investigation. “Now we are painted as thugs,” Thomas told reporters. In mid-July, Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces, who is almost as good as Clark, received some bad news after her team lost to the Fever. Gray decided to post it on social media so that everyone could see what the Black players can face when they go against the white darling of the league. You s*a** bad a** he read a message that also called him the N-word. Gray wrote in his post, “People act like we’re just doing this.”
That was history when Obama surprised the WNBA All-Stars walking over them during practice for today’s game. They were walking around the inner court at the newly opened Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side when the man whose name is on the building came down to the floor in jeans and a white shirt to welcome them—and gently remind them of a certain truth: It took 30 years of effort by low-wage, unsung athletes to finally arrive as a team, all beloved by the masses. strive together. The growing commercial success of the WNBA is due to its relevance and affordability compared to men’s leagues, but also to the sense that viewers are watching not just the game but the gradual victory of women to power. “People looking at your quality, I think, has been something, for basketball fans in general, to see,” Obama told them.
The former president took pains to make it clear that he is a true supporter of the league. He gave small words to various players about their seasons while he was taking pictures. Then Obama saw Clark. “Oh man!” He said. “Caitlin! You are beautiful!” He moved closer, to deliver a more personal message, taken by a hot microphone. “Don’t let all this nonsense get you down,” he told her. “I always say one of the things that was lucky for me was that I didn’t get famous ’till I was 45 years old. So I was an old-ass. I mean, you’re my daughter’s age. And have a big burden and, you know, nonsense. So don’t lose that fun. The game is, like the game. And you’re a hoop.”
“I try—sometimes,” he said shyly.
“You are always hoping,” he said. “And you’re doing a little better right now.”
There was sweetness then, subtle teachings. In the best way, Obama stopped Clark, but also reminded him that he is a great player and a great person when he only plays the game, accepts the inevitable bad calls and frustrations, and does not let the web-made poisons enter his bloodstream. What is left unsaid is the fact that no one has faced more injustice than Black women who can’t buy phones from management, and they don’t get their signature shoe deals either. Obama chose not to oppose Clark on that measure. Instead, he gave him grace. And perhaps because he did so, he will be in more favor with his opponents – and they will be with him.
Clark is an underrated young player who can be a bit of a hero when beaten. He is learning. “Sometimes, I think, people don’t always realize, like, I’m 23 or 24 years old and I’m trying to juggle a lot of different things while trying to play basketball at the same time,” he told reporters after meeting with Obama. “So, it was good to hear that from him and I think, honestly, it’s probably a good reminder for all of us to treat people with respect, to treat people with grace.”
It was a fun and quietly difficult meeting, and an inspiring reminder of what a “president” can look like. Clark already knows how to win. But Obama gave him a lesson in how to win.
