Caitlin Clark’s WNBA ride can help my daughter and see women’s sports take off, says TIM HOWARD, but rows over sexism and salary prove how far we still have to go… should she earn more? Yes – all female athletes should

A few weekends ago my daughter Ali was with me in Nashville. She wants to play professional football and we were there along with thousands of Premier League fans for the NBC Fan Fest.

On Sunday, however, Ali raced home and made a three-hour drive to make sure she was back for tipoff in the national championship game between Iowa and South Carolina.

Ali is a young, ambitious football player who will soon go to high school. She has better things to do on the weekend. But she chose to rush home to watch Caitlin Clark. That speaks volumes.

Caitlin Clark… wow. She’s incredible. A superstar and a great role model. There are a lot of athletes who are good players, but ultimately there isn’t much substance to back it up when times get tough.

Clark is not bizarre, she is not eccentric in the way she dresses or the way she plays. There is something healthy and pure about that. Watching her, you get the feeling that there is still something great in the sport.

Tim Howard and his daughter Ali, an aspiring football player, at the NBC Fan Fest in Nashville

Nearly 19 million fans watched Clark’s Iowa take on South Carolina in March Madness

DailyMail.com’s sports columnist Tim Howard

She shuts her mouth, she walks the walk, she asks for the ball in big moments and she carries the team on her back. When she fails, she handles it with grace and dignity. How powerful is that?

I would be shocked if this didn’t turn out to be the moment women’s sports took off. More eyes are on it and the dollar signs always follow. As the father of a daughter who wants to play professionally, you hope more Caitlin Clarks follow suit in the near future. Time will tell.

After Caitlin was drafted by the Indiana Fever, even Joe Biden had a say in her WNBA contract. The No. 1 pick will make $76,000 in her rookie year — should she get more? Naturally. Should all female athletes get more money? Naturally.

I’m talking to my daughter about equal pay and I told her, if you’re ever in a position to join a union or union, you’re going to fight like hell to get what you think you’re worth.

Clark will help. A rising tide lifts all boats. The more people who watch and spend their money on basketball will only benefit all women and women’s sports.

The 22-year-old has become one of the most high-profile athletes in all of American sports

The Fever star’s introductory press conference was overshadowed by a sexism storm

Unfortunately, this week also highlighted that we still have a long way to go when it comes to our treatment of women.

Comments from a reporter at Clark’s introductory press conference have shed light on the way we look at them, the way we talk to them and the way we value them.

My daughter is going to college next year and that will bring incredible opportunities, but I always try to teach. And when these things happen, we’re quick to start the conversation and say, there’s still bias, you still have to break down barriers. Maybe she can be part of that.

Right now, at 22 years old, Clark will be the face of the WNBA. That brings a lot of pressure. Women’s basketball has really come to the fore in the last few years; there have been controversies and trash talk… and it’s all good for the game.

But Caitlin has continued to play at an elite level. When she has faced criticism in difficult times, she has risen above it. That’s hard to do and it speaks volumes about who she is as a woman and as an athlete.

The Indiana Fever star is being mobbed by autograph hunters during this week’s draft in New York

If someone came at me, I would immediately shoot back, with my claws out and my teeth showing. But she is very classy in the way she handles herself, both on and off the field.

She didn’t really make a mistake. But I’ve played alongside other young superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, and the truth is? We want to see people rise, but we also like to see their downfall. We don’t want anyone to be too high for too long. We want to poke holes in them and we want to enjoy their downfall. That’s the way it works.

She needs to realize that not everyone wants her to do well. And unfortunately, very few athletes survive fame, fortune and spotlight. It’s a tricky mix.

NIL means she had a little money in her pocket in college. But guess what? She will have much more now, and she will have free rein to do as she pleases. So to do it well, she has to take herself into account.

I’ve never met Caitlin. Maybe one day. I think I have to go to a Fever game.