Caitlin Clark must come to terms with harsh truths about fame, says TIM HOWARD. Here's what I would do - and what I'm telling my daughter

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

On the Sunday, however, Ali raced home, making the three-hour drive to be sure she was back for tip-off in the national championship game between Iowa and South Carolina.

Ali is a young, aspiring soccer player who is going to be a high school senior soon - she has everything better to do on the weekend. But she chose to rush home to watch Caitlin Clark. That speaks volumes.

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

Clark isn’t outlandish, she isn’t eccentric with the way she dresses or the way she plays. There is something wholesome and pure about that. Watching her, you feel like there is still some greatness in sports.

Caitlin Clark was selected by the Indiana Fever with the No 1 pick of the 2024 WNBA draft 

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

Nearly 19million fans tuned in to watch Clark's Iowa face South Carolina at March Madness

DailyMail.com's sports columnist Tim Howard

She keeps her mouth shut, she walks the walk, she asks for the ball in big moments and she takes 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 prove to be a moment when 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 there are more Caitlin Clarks to come in the near future. Time will tell.

After Caitlin was drafted by the Indiana Fever, though, even Joe Biden had a say on her WNBA contract. The No 1 pick is due to make $76,000 in her rookie year - should she get more? Of course. Should all women athletes get more money? Of course.

I talk to my daughter about equal pay and I told her: if you're ever in a position to be part of a union or labor association, you fight like hell to get what you think you're worth.

Clark will help. A rising tide lifts all boats. The more people that watch basketball and put their dollars towards it is only going to 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, though, this week also underlined that we still have a long way to go when it comes to our treatment of women.

Comments by one reporter at Clark’s introductory press conference have shone a light on the way that we view them, the way that we speak to them and the way we value them.

My daughter will head to college next year and that will bring incredible opportunities but I’m always trying to teach. And when these things arise, we are quick to have the conversation and to say: there is still a bias out there, you still need to break down barriers. Maybe she can be a part of that.

Right now, Clark is going to be the face of the WNBA at just 22. That comes with a lot of pressure. Women's college basketball has really been thrust to the forefront over the last couple of years -there have been controversies and trash talking… and all that's good for the game.

But Caitlin has continued to play at an elite level. When she’s been criticized in in the tough times, she's risen above it. That’s hard to do and that speaks volumes to who she is as as a woman and as an athlete.

The Indiana Fever star is mobbed by autograph hunters at this week's draft in New York

If someone came at me, I shot right back with my claws out and my teeth showing. But she is very classy in how she handles herself on and off the court.

She hasn't really taken a misstep. But I’ve played alongside other young superstars such as 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 pick holes in them and we want to delight in their demise. That's the way it works.

She has to realize that not everybody wants her to do well. And unfortunately very few athletes make it through fame, fortune and spotlight. It's a tough mix.

NIL means she’s had a little bit of money in her pocket in college. But guess what? She'll have a whole lot more now, and she's going to have free reign to do what she wants. So to get it right, she has to be mindful of herself.

I have never met Caitlin. One day, maybe. I guess I’ll have to go to a Fever game.