Caitlin Clark called it “disappointing” to see her name being weaponized for racism and misogyny in a rebuke of some of the discourse since she started her WNBA career earlier this year.
Since arriving in the WNBA, Clark’s treatment has become the subject of non-stop think pieces and a topic among debate shows across the political and sports spectrums, with some commentators such as Jason Whitlock claiming Clark is being targeted by opposing players because of her race and sexuality.
But the Fever rookie said she’s being used to further racist and misogynistic agendas by some who have used perceived slights against the WNBA superstar to push those ideals.
“I think it’s disappointing,” Clark said before being held to seven points in the Fever’s 91-84 home win over the Dream on Thursday night. “Everybody in our world deserves the same amount of respect. The women in our league deserve the same amount of respect. People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable. This league is the league I grew up admiring and wanting to be a part of.
“Some of the women in this league were some of my biggest idols and role models growing up, and helped me want to achieve this moment right here that I get to play in ever single night. Just treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect is just a basic human thing that everyone should do. Just be a kind person and treat them how you would want to be treated.”
Clark has been dragged into the culture wars on all fronts since she made her WNBA debut last month and the topic has only garnered more and more headlines.
The high-profile incident earlier this month, when Clark was fouled hard by the Sky’s Chennedy Carter, turned into a national debate over how Clark was being treated by other players.
The debate drew input from everyone from sports commentators like Stephen A. Smith to politicians such as U.S. Rep. Jim Banks — who was compelled to write a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Another firestorm occurred this past weekend after Clark was left off the U.S. roster for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
The comments made during Thursday’s pregame availability were more direct than the ones made by Clark when she was asked a similar question earlier in the day.
“It’s not something I can control so I don’t put too much thought and time into thinking about things like that,” Clark said, speaking generally about the conversations involving her. “To be honest, I don’t see a lot of it. Like I’ve said, basketball is my job. Everything on the outside, I can’t control that so I’m not going to spend time thinking about that.
“’People can talk about what they want to talk about, create conversations about whatever it is. But for myself, I am just here to play basketball.”
In those comments, Clark also denied that she felt all the chatter has impacted her ability to create relationships within the WNBA and said she felt the league is “excited about all things attention we are getting, we are appreciative of it.”