Mary-Lise Rowat

Wife, mother, educator and Belieber!

[Sports Patriot @SportsPatriotUS]

I’m going to say this as calmly as possible:

Watching Caitlin Clark in the WNBA has become genuinely hard to stomach.

Not because she struggles sometimes. Not because she makes mistakes. Not because she gets criticized. That comes with being great.

It’s hard to stomach because it has become obvious that the league, the officials, the media, the players, and even her own organization have all decided that the most important thing is not letting Caitlin Clark become too big.

And that is insane.

This league was handed the most marketable, electric, revenue-generating player women’s basketball has ever seen, and instead of building around the moment, too many people seem obsessed with humbling her.

She gets fouled. Held. Hit. Cheap-shotted. Mocked. Targeted. Then when she reacts like a normal competitor, suddenly everyone wants to analyze her attitude.

No.

Her attitude is not the story.

The story is that a generational player is being treated like a problem by the very league she helped drag into mainstream relevance.

This reminds me of the worst kind of youth coach... the one who sees a special player, feels threatened by her talent, and slowly drains the joy out of her in the name of “teaching humility.”

That is what this looks like.

The freedom she played with at Iowa is disappearing. The fire is still there, but the joy looks damaged. The confidence looks weighed down. She looks like someone constantly fighting the refs, opponents, narratives, coaching decisions, jealousy, and a league culture that should be protecting its golden opportunity instead of resenting it.

And let’s be honest: Stephanie White has not helped.

Benching Caitlin Clark randomly when she is controlling the game tempo, or having your best shooter off the floor in critical game ending minutes when a victory is within reach is basketball malpractice. Limiting her rhythm, downplaying her greatness, benching momentum, and treating her like just another piece instead of the engine is absurd.

You do not take a player who changed the economics of your sport and manage her like you’re afraid her greatness might offend the room.

Nike deserves criticism too. Other players get signature shoes rolled out with urgency, while the biggest draw in women’s basketball is somehow still waiting on that signature shoe. That is not confusing. That is revealing.

Fans are not stupid.

They see the fouls.
They see the double standards.
They see the jealousy.
They see the media resentment.
They see the league benefiting from her popularity while refusing to fully embrace her.
And here is the part the WNBA better understand quickly:
People are not tuning in to watch Caitlin Clark be humbled.
They are tuning in to watch Caitlin Clark be great.
If she walked away tomorrow, the fans would follow her. The sponsors would follow her. The energy would follow her. The high salaries and the charter jets would follow her. And the league would be forced to confront the uncomfortable truth it keeps trying to avoid:

Caitlin Clark did not need the WNBA nearly as much as the WNBA needed Caitlin Clark.

At some point, her family, her agent, and her team need to ask a hard question:

How much longer do you let a league profit from her while allowing the culture around her to beat the spirit out of her?

Because from the outside looking in, this does not look like normal adversity anymore. It looks like abuse.

It looks like a league trying to break the very player who made millions of people care.

https://t.co/AAxFrO46Z4

[Jason To | 杜澤信 @Jason_To]

Many educators are still unclear about why Ontario is destreaming & what shifts to instruction are needed to unleash its transformative potential.

If you want to hear me gab about that for an hour, join me on May 10. Thanks @LDatSchool for the soapbox.

🔗https://t.co/0NbBdKzWfa

[Indigenous Students @AB_Students]

RT @GCIndigenous: Eligible First Nations youth aging out of care or formerly in care can now access post-majority support services up to their 26th birthday. Learn more: https://t.co/kunuu4HKOw

[RCCDSB @RCCDSB]

Join us for our Parent Night discussion on wellness and self care this Wednesday, January 25th at 6 p.m! Register here: https://t.co/g5jWgPEJFQ

[RCCDSB @RCCDSB]

Last week, Transportation SHSM students from Bishop Smith CHS  had the opportunity to visit the 427 Squadron hangar at CFB Petawawa. Students learned about civilian and enlisted career opportunities in aircraft and vehicle maintenance. #CareerPlanning #SHSM #Pathways

[Mary-Lise Rowat @mlrowat]

@bsw5020 Hi Brian. Your good night moon posts put me in mind of Joel Placket's song "Hey Moon". I hope it brings you joy. https://t.co/eT4uCnPjjB

[Mary-Lise Rowat @mlrowat]

@USPORTSIntl Go Lea!

[James Martin, SJ @JamesMartinSJ]

Beautiful images from Pope Francis's regular meetings with transgender people at his General Audiences. Thanks to Italian journalist @iscaramuzzi for this incredible story, first reported in La @repubblica, now in English exclusively on @OutrchCatholic https://t.co/abFE7llYKE

[RCCDSB @RCCDSB]

Reminder to wear pink and think PINK for our Board wide Pink Shirt Day tomorrow! #RCCDSBThinkPink #AntibullyingWeek #ChooseKind

https://t.co/P2Ov1LSNiv

[RCCDSB @RCCDSB]

We are pleased to inform our school communities that CUPE and the provincial government have reached a tentative agreement, and all RCCDSB schools will be open for regular, in-person learning tomorrow, Monday, Nov. 21st.

https://t.co/Wzg6vYePWX

[Catholic Teachers @OECTAProv]

REGISTRATION EXTENDED until October 25! Our Mini-Course topics include:
- Assessment & Evaluation 101
- Classroom Management Strategies
- First Steps to Building Equitable & Inclusive Schools
- Haudenosaunee Life: Past & Present
#CatholicTeachers #onted
https://t.co/bxy8zxAa6o

[RCCDSB @RCCDSB]

The RCCDSB is hiring a Permanent Help Desk Technician. Please view the job posting here: https://t.co/aRw9tGVjWj

[RCCDSB Indigenous Education @IE_RCCDSB]

It's Secret Path Week. A reminder that reconciliation needs to be on-going. What 'something' are you doing?

[Troy Maracle @TroyMaracle]

A must watch especially for this upcoming week of Truth and Reconciliation. 👇🏽

[Mary-Lise Rowat @mlrowat]

@LaverCup @DjokerNole @felixtennis @twhiddleston I watch a lot of tennis. We all know how skilled Novak is. The number of negative statements by the commentators as they discuss Felix’s game is stunning. He’s 12th in the world! Do better.