The WNBA world was heartbroken after learning Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink tore her left ACL. The No. 2 overall pick won’t be able to compete at the 2024 Olympics after making Team USA’s 3×3 roster, and she may not return for the rest of the WNBA season.
Ahead of the Indiana Fever’s matchup against the Washington Mystics on June 19, Caitlin Clark called Brink’s injury “devastating” while speaking to reporters.
Clark sent a strong message to her fellow rookie, whom she’s been friends with since they were teenagers.
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“I know she’s the type of person that will be able to get through it and come out [of] it stronger,” Clark said. “It just breaks your heart. She’s such a good basketball player but an even better person.”
“I know so many people are thinking of her and praying for her,” Clark continued. “I’m sure she’s overwhelmed by the support right now and she definitely deserves it. Knowing the type of person she is, this will only make her better in the long run.”
Brink also had Clark’s back amid the intense scrutiny the former Iowa Hawkeye faced while adjusting to the high level of physicality and talent in the WNBA.
“The most tired narrative is that the vets are against the rookies,” the Stanford alum told Dime magazine. “This old-school versus new-school narrative — and the narrative that the rookies need to be perfect. I feel like Caitlin Clark has that the worst right now.
“We’re expected to be perfect. We were drafted to high-drafting teams coming off of losing seasons, which is fine. It’s a learning process.”
“But people expect us to be perfect, and it’s freaking exhausting. I feel like we learn how to tune it out, but still, it’s unrealistic, and it kind of just shows that people don’t know basketball.”
