Why Jared McCain is using his platform — and style — to highlight women’s sports
The Sixers rookie’s love of women’s sports comes from his mother — and now he wants others to “pay some respect.”
Jared McCain is no stranger to expressing himself through his style, and during the early going of his first NBA season, he’s been using it to support women’s sports.
Philadelphia doesn’t have a WNBA team, but that hasn’t stopped McCain from supporting some of the league’s biggest stars. On his first trip to Indiana, McCain wore a Caitlin Clark hoodie, a nod to the Indiana Fever and former University of Iowa phenomenon.
Clark, who McCain said is his favorite woman athlete right now, showed him love in return. “I got the Caitlin Clark follow, that was cool,” McCain told The Inquirer.
More recently, McCain wore a hoodie with the message “Pay some respect to women’s sports” on Dec. 3, ahead of a game against the Hornets in Charlotte, N.C.
McCain’s mother was a track athlete in high school, and sparked his support for women’s sports — and probably his athletic career.
“I got her thighs, for sure,” McCain said with a laugh. “I credit my mom for all my athletic genes — mostly. Shout-out my dad a little bit.”
McCain played one season of college basketball at Duke, where he and his fellow freshman players went to watch everything from women’s soccer to basketball to swimming.
“Going to Duke, having the elite women’s sports, it was easy to go to and have fun at,” McCain said. “It was close games, the best teams in the country. It’s cool to have other elite athletes to go support.”
» READ MORE: Sixers guard Jared McCain is named Eastern Conference rookie of the month
Now, with no WNBA team — or NWSL or women’s pro hockey teams — in Philadelphia, McCain said he still wants to be part of the growing movement supporting women’s sports in the U.S., so he’s expressing it through fashion.
McCain is known for painting his nails before every game, and has partnered with clothing brands like SKIMS and American Eagle. He also takes inspiration from women’s fashion for some of his red-carpet looks.
“Whenever I wear a fit, I ask the guy who I live with, Nate, if it looks good,” McCain said. “Usually, if he says no, that means it’s a good fit. Sometimes fashion comes from the feminine side, obviously, the nails, that’s what it originates from.”
McCain is averaging 15.8 points and shooting 38.2% from three-point range, and his star continues to rise as his play has lifted him to the top of the NBA Rookie of the Year conversation. With it, his platform and reach — which already extends well beyond basketball thanks to TikTok — is only going to continue to grow.