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As we get closer to the opening of the WNBA season, the hype grows by the week. Seeing Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark begin to get shots up for their respective teams has been a joy. With all the energy and intrigue surrounding the new season, news of player salaries has also been a focal. In addition, there’s been a microscope on the types of endorsements that players would be getting. They would serve inherently as a supplement to their salaries since they were significantly lower than their male counterparts.

So, when news of Clark’s Nike deal surfaced, it raised the antennas of Black fans. Reportedly at $28 million over eight years, Clark is signing one of the most lucrative deals a WNBA player has ever signed. But what is this endorsement in recognition of? Could it be her historic, record-breaking college career? Or could we attribute it to the thought that her being a white woman makes her more widely appealing? I say that it could be a matter of truth in both cases. Clark’s race is out of her control. But her greatness is mostly her fault, that her grind and those skills merit recognition.

But knowing these things, what could I surmise Nike’s vision to be? Here’s how I see it, Clark has the opportunity to be a rising tide that lifts all ships. As Black basketball fans, we truly believe that basketball is our game. It’s the rhythm and the flare of the game that we so innately connect to. So, when a white baller with game comes along, we typically respect it and take notice. We revere Diana Taurasi, Dirk Nowitzki, Larry Bird and Luka Doncic just to name a few. And Nike may see that exact potential to brand around that greatness.

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This unique era in women’s basketball has an opportunity for the game to hit the mainstream with staying power. It’s something that the league has taken steps to do for some years now. The energy around Clark gives the WNBA attention on almost all of their regular season games. Teams that want to challenge her and make examples of her and the other rookies. But, in turn, the revenue made from these games will also help catapult her on-court foes. If you thought last year’s WNBA campaign was exciting, wait until the Aces go up against the Fever. Or wait until we see Angel Reese and the Sky meet the Fever for the first time. Dates will be circled on calendars, and we as fans will be treated to compelling competition.

As I recognize the appeal that Clark has, I also don’t believe she should feel guilty about her deal. I rather a woman of any kind, show what any woman should be able to command in the sports marketplace. This will help all women gradually make more equitable income in their league. The optics of it all will also ensure that the public at large continues to take their sport as seriously as others. There are a lot of parts that help an engine run. This moment with Clark is just one of those incremental mechanisms that will help Black women also be in a position to make record-setting history.

One of the most polarizing figures in American History was O.J. Simpson. He succumbed to his battle with prostate cancer on April 10. He spent the better part of the last seven years of his life as a free man. But for the majority of my lifetime before that, I knew him to be mired in controversy.

When you’re of a certain age, you have to be educated about what people did in the era before you came along. I grew up knowing that Ronald Regan was a former president of this country. It wasn’t until my teenage years that I learned that he used to be an actor. I also grew up on Full House. So, finding out in my college years that Bob Saget was a comedian before that, was a shocker. It was especially shocking because he was known for his raunchy comedy style. So, when it came to O.J. Simpson, the first thing I ever knew of him was the murder trial in 1994.

I don’t think I’ve witnessed any event that captivated the collective attention of the country until 9/11 or Black Lives Matter. But as a pop culture happening, this trial stands alone. I understood back in 1994 that Simpson was a Heisman trophy-winning football player. It was told to me that he played for the Buffalo Bills. But at five years old, I still didn’t understand the magnitude of the player or personality that he was. Over time, I learned, and the pre-trial O.J. Simpson was legendary.

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Simpson’s career before the controversy mirrored a lot of what athletes’ careers look like nowadays. He spent time working as an analyst on television. Not to mention, he was one of the early NFL personalities who got into movies and commercials. Known as one of the most charming people in pop culture, I’m sure at the time, it seemed like Simpson could do no wrong. Once Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown, everything changed.

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This trial took place in the wake of the senseless beating of Rodney King by the LAPD. So there was a microscope on how this trial would be handled. Enlisting the counsel of famed attorney, Johnny Cochran, Simpson gave himself the best chance at victory. And that’s what Simpson experienced: victory. In the fall of 1995, Simpson was acquitted of the murder charges levied against him. This was after a trial that went on for over a year. And at the time, me being six years old, it sure as hell felt like it. It’s been said in documentaries, that the jury involved in this trial saw this as an opportunity to not have another Black man suffer at the hands of “justice.” Some view this verdict as revenge for the Rodney King beating and the litany of other issues involving Black people and police brutality.

Regardless of any of our sentiments, when it came to this case, in the eyes of the law, Simpson was an innocent man. From what I can recall, Simpson’s existence between 1995 and 2008 was relatively low-key. But he found himself once again in the crosshairs of the law. Claiming that some of his memorabilia was stolen from him, Simpson and a group of men attempted to forcibly get the items back. A Las Vegas court found him guilty of armed robbery, and he then stayed in prison for another nine years. Many in our community viewed this as poetic justice, and it might have well been. Some people will never view Simpson in a glowing light, and that’s perfectly legal.

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It’s weird when someone passes away and you hope to be able to refer to their time on this earth in a respectful fashion. So much of that esteem is earned while we are all living Maybe Simpson softened some hearts with his appearances on It Is What It is with Ma$e and Cam’Ron. Others could surely care less. But we can certainly recognize his positive contributions as an athlete before becoming a polarizing figure. But you can’t solely focus on that. We have too much of a sample size of behavior to know that his life wasn’t as squeaky clean as he may have liked us to believe. And believe me, we all fall short, but there are no doubt levels to all of this. How you live matters.