This week, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was once again asked about hateful and racist comments directed toward her opponents after Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas called out Indian Fever fans this week.
During her press conference this week, Caitlin Clark gave a firm response to the comments as she condemned all racist and hateful comments, dismissing those who make those comments as not fans, but trolls.
“It’s definitely upsetting,” Clark said of the racist comments according to the Indy Star. “Nobody really should be facing any sort of racism, hurtful, disrespectful, hateful comments and threats. Those aren’t fans, those are trolls.”
“It’s a real disservice to the people in our league, the organization, the players in the WNBA, but there are a lot of really good fans, whether they’ve been fans for 20-plus years or whether they are new fans in our league, I think continuing to uplift this league in a very positive light is the best thing we can do because there are so many great players, so many great teams, so many positive storylines that can be written and celebrated, and for me, that’s why I became a fan of this league because these people were my idols. I grew up wanting to be like them, so I think continuing to uplift and represent this league in a positive way is the best thing that we can do.”
It was obviously a clear and strong response from Clark, but many think it’s a rather horrible and unfair situation that she even has to keep answering these questions, since those comments are not her fault or her responsibility.
“It needs to be repeated often that Caitlin Clark didn’t ask for any of this, and attaching her character to the ugly behavior of some of the people who call themselves her fans — they aren’t her fans but people who have weaponized her to express their hatred of Black and LGBTQ+ women — is wildly unfair,” Jemele Hill said in a post on X.
“How many times does she have to be asked about this like it’s her fault any of this is happening, and like she’s not also the target of endless vitriol on social media. She just wants to play basketball,” Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post wrote on X.
“Caitlin Clark is only 22 years old and has handled being a pawn in a bizarre culture war as well as she can,” Jorge Alonso of BroBible wrote on X.
“This was again in response to a question,” Nancy Amour of USA Today said in a post.
It’s certainly not fair for Clark to keep having to answer these questions, but she keeps handling it with class.
