Controversial retired soccer star Megan Rapinoe has waded into simmering racial tensions in the WNBA.
Speaking with partner and retired WNBA legend Sue Bird on her podcast, Rapinoe criticized the “racist” issue at the heart of USA Today columnist Christine Brennan’s war with the WNBA players’ union.
“My gut reaction was like, ‘That’s not good.’ That doesn’t feel good. To be honest, that feels racist,” Rapinoe told Bird.
The controversial question was directed at Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington, who has been in the crosshairs of Caitlin Clark fans since he poked the Indiana Fever rookie in the eye in last month’s playoff opener.
Brennan asked Carrington last week if the hit to the eye was intentional, which the player denied. Likewise, Carrington also denied laughing about the incident after cameras caught her laughing with her teammates later in the Game 1 victory. (The Sun would beat Clark’s Fever in the best-of-three series to advance to the semifinals )
Caitlin Clark (right) is seen defended by DiJonai Carrington in their first round series.
Sue Bird (far left) and Megan Rapinoe (near left) targeted Christine Brennan (right)
But while Carrington responded to Brennan’s questions without complaint, the WNBA players’ union responded with a scathing statement directed at the famed columnist.
“To non-professional members of the media like Christine Brennan: You are not misleading anyone,” the WNBPA statement read.
“That so-called interview in the name of journalism was a blatant attempt to incite a professional athlete to participate in a false narrative designed to fuel racist, homophobic and misogynistic vitriol on social media. You can’t hide behind your mandate.
“He has abused his privileges and does not deserve the credentials he was given.”
Brennan, a 66-year-old sports writing pioneer, has been defended by dozens of journalists since the controversy began, including some on both sides of the political divide. For example, liberal Keith Olbermann and conservative Jason Whitlock condemned the WNBPA for its statement.
Additionally, USA Today issued a statement saying the newspaper rejects “the notion that the interview perpetuated any narrative other than directly obtaining the players’ perspective.”
No foul was called even though the contact left the 22-year-old in agony on the ground.
Rapinoe, on the other hand, believes the columnist was instinctively defending Clark, who happens to be the subject of Brennan’s next book.
“I think it’s very disingenuous for Christine Brennan and other members of the media to say, ‘I’m just asking the question,'” Rapinoe said.
“But what’s really happening is your natural instinct to protect and narrate white players instead of ‘haunt and narrate black players.'” To me, that’s the problem.
“The premise of the question is based on the belief that DiJonai is targeting, that DiJonai is specifically smashed or hit in Caitlin’s eyeball,” Rapinoe continued.
Both Bird and Rapinoe were quick to dismiss the blow to the eye as unintentional.
“First of all, the square footage of Caitlin’s eyeball is very small,” Rapinoe said.
“That was my first thought,” Bird agreed. ‘Do you know how hard it would be to aim and hit someone in the eye?’
And although Clark suffered a black eye, she also dismissed the incident and said she doesn’t believe Carrington intended to hurt her.
Still, that hasn’t stopped fans and the media from calling for a suspension.
“DiJonai Carrington stabbed Caitlin Clark in the eye with a fingernail,” Whitlock later wrote in ESPN and the WNBA have yet to address this story. Carrington should be suspended.
Clark sported a clear glow in his right eye in his postgame press conference.
Carrington was not suspended, nor was she even whistled for a foul on the play, two things that have fueled some fans’ belief that Clark is a victim of anti-white racism.
The plot has been a constant theme throughout the 2024 season, as the WNBA has broken all records for sales and television viewership. Many players and teams have reported racist abuse from fans, much of which has focused on the rivalry between rookies Clark, who is white, and Angel Reese, who is black.
When asked about the issue while appearing on CNBC last month, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert compared the Clark-Reese dynamic to the NBA’s famous Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry, which also included players from different races.
“That’s what makes people watch,” Engelbert said. ‘They want to see important matches between rivals. They don’t want everyone to be nice to each other.
Speaking to Bird, Rapinoe rejected that explanation wholeheartedly.
“He basically implied that racial tension is good for business, invoking Magic and Bird,” Rapinoe said.
And Rapinoe’s problems with Engelbert didn’t end there.
As she and Bird explained, racism occurred in the WNBA long before Clark’s arrival brought in waves of new fans. The problem also exists at the college level, where Reese and her LSU teammates, as well as defending champion South Carolina, faced racist abuse online in recent years, according to Rapinoe.
Engelbert, Rapinoe said, should have anticipated this problem.
“I also feel like the league and Cathy, the commissioner, have failed (WNBA players) a lot this year,” Rapinoe said. ‘As (Bird) said, this is not new. This has been happening.’
Jason Whitlock Claimed ‘Dijonai Carrington Stabbed Caitlin Clark in the Eye with a Fingernail’
And the issue hasn’t gone anywhere in the playoffs.
After the most successful regular season in league history, the current WNBA postseason runs the risk of being overshadowed by controversy.
While many Clark fans have accused the league of conspiring against its biggest star, several players have expressed frustration over racist abuse from fans.
And it is not Clark or strictly his fans who are responsible. Clark, for his part, has condemned fans’ racist abuse of players.
“It’s definitely disturbing,” Clark said last month. ‘No one in our league should face any type of racism, hurtful, disrespectful and hateful comments and threats. Those are not fans. “Those are trolls and it’s a disservice to the people of our league, the organization, the WNBA.”
Bird not only absolved Clark of any responsibility, but stressed that his fans, as a whole, are not to blame.
“It’s not Fever fans, it’s not Caitlin fans,” Bird told Rapinoe on her podcast. “We’re talking about the faction of that group that is pushing racist agendas, pushing hate and creating division online by acting like bigots, acting like Fever fans, acting like Caitlin fans.”