This day in 1993 my Soul Mate said "I do" and Kelli Loos has been the rock of our crew since. She has authored this piece and gives great insight into her parenting.

Full Court Press

If I had written this immediately following the Big 10 women’s basketball championship on March 10, it would have read a lot differently. Yes, I was disappointed that the Huskers lost in overtime to Iowa but since they beat them earlier in the season that may not have been completely unexpected. What I was the most frustrated about was a hot-shot player named Caitlin Clark.

I feel like if you haven’t heard of her yet, I have no idea why. This girl is everywhere. She is in commercials for everything from State Farm and Nike to HyVee and Buick. Yes, she has broken more records than we will ever begin to mention in this short piece. What frustrated me during the Big10 game was her attitude. Yelling at other players, yelling at the refs, forcing her coaches to call a time out and drag her off the court to stop one of her profanity-laced tirades. It was ridiculous. I couldn’t help but think if I had acted like that on the court, my Dad would have tanned my hide. Had my girls acted like that on the court, same outcome!!

People were going on and on about how much recognition she was bringing to women’s sports. In speaking with former college and high school women’s athletes and coaches, the consensus was the same: her antics on the court were not shedding a positive light on women in sports.

Watching a 22-year-old have a temper tantrum in a basketball game could not be good for women’s sports. Her actions, just like her shooting, were something stolen from the NBA with a touch of “girl drama” thrown in as she whined about calls made against her or her teammates. She showed little respect to other players, coaches or referees. It seemed clear that she ran the team and the program at Iowa. Is that how college sports are supposed to work?

And let’s talk about the supportive family – cheering and all smiles in the stands as she carried on. Until one game, when photos and videos of her Dad yelling at her from the stands to “Stop” when she was chasing after an official to dispute a call. Was that the turning point? Maybe but we may never know for sure.

Enter Caitlin Clark in the NCAA tournament, a totally different demeanor. Was it because the games thus far have been something to smile about and not really much of a contest? We will see as the tournament progresses but the superstar seemed to have a much different attitude.

She was still draining threes from way, way outside the arc but she was passing the ball, sharing the spotlight, cracking a smile now and then and there was not a single bit of foul language or any arguments with the officials.

Maybe she had one of those “car ride home” conversations with her Dad – I know how impactful those can be! Maybe he, or someone close to her, pointed out that her behavior was unbecoming of the champion she was striving to be and the superstar she had become. Maybe she was warned that she represented not only her family and her team, which should be the most important, but also the brands she now had NIL contracts with. Would they want to keep her as a spokesperson if she acted like a toddler on the playground?

Things to factor into all of this include that she has an estimated $3.2 million worth of NIL sponsorship, ticket sales are through the roof and everyone is glued to Iowa women’s basketball because they want to see this girl work her magic, score like a machine, break records every time she steps on the court and be a media darling. Wow!! That can be a lot of pressure when you are only 22!

Has she handled it better than those who’ve been in her shoes before? Well, that’s impossible to say because NO ONE has ever achieved the records and earnings that this college senior has. Did she always handle it perfectly? Probably not but she may have stepped back and looked at it from another perspective or had some tough conversations with those who most want her to succeed and learned from them.

It’s unchartered territory and for the sake of women’s sports, we have to offer a little grace and hope she is able to navigate the strong currents and help bring more opportunities to women and girls through the choices she makes both on and off the court.