Jason Whitlock made a bizarre comparison between Caitlin Clark and Pete Rose following the legendary baseball star’s death.
The Cincinnati Reds legend passed away on Monday at the age of 83. His death opened a Pandora’s box of what his life and career will be remembered for.
While speaking of Rose’s devotional love for the sport, Whitlock compared his dedication to that of the WNBA rookie, Clark.
‘When I think about Pete Rose, I understand why there’s such a passion for Caitlin Clark,’ Whitlock said on his YouTube channel. ‘Because when Caitlin Clark plays basketball, it reminds you of Pete Rose playing baseball.’
‘When you watch Caitlin Clark, it’s like ‘Holy cow!’ She puts everything and will risk everything to play basketball and reach her goals,’ he continued.
Jason Whitlock made a bizarre comparison between Pete Rose and Caitlin Clark
Rose’s death earlier this week, inspired Whitlock to compare his dedication to Clark’s
Clark’s rookie campaign inspired a massive boost in the WNBA’s viewership and attendance numbers, largely due to her rivalry with fellow rookie Angel Reese.
On the court, Clark proved to be the best of her class by bagging the Rookie of the Year award and finishing among the top players in MVP voting.
Nicknamed Charlie Hustle, Rose played most of his career with Cincinnati and was part of their dominant era in the 1970s. As the poster boy for the Reds, Rose holds the league record for most hits with 4,256.
While many described him as an adrenaline junkie, Rose was notorious for his gambling problem, which MLV warned him about in the 1980s.
After the league investigated his betting, Rose was ultimately banned from baseball, even though his betting was only for an extra push in games. Rick Reilly of The Washington Post wrote that Rose did not care about the money but only ‘about the juice.’
While no indications lead to Clark risking her basketball career for vices off the court, Whitlock points out ‘Holy cow does she have a passion for the game. She’s willing to risk everything – her reputation, getting poked in the eye, getting beat up by everybody on the court and we love that and we respect that about her.’
‘That’s why there’s so much energy and people trying to protect Caitlin Clark at all costs, why her fan base is out of control and rabid. Because she reminds us of what sports used to be like.’
The controversial analyst then listed NBA greats, stating Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and how they ‘Played the game like the money didn’t matter.’
‘This is what Pete Rose represented,’ Whitlock said. ‘And it’s a torch that has now been handed to a 22-year-old little girl out of Iowa.’
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