Home Sports Caitlin Clark responds to bigotry in WNBA audience: ‘People should not be using my name to push those agendas’

Caitlin Clark responds to bigotry in WNBA audience: ‘People should not be using my name to push those agendas’

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Caitlin Clark responds to bigotry in WNBA audience: 'People should not be using my name to push those agendas'

As the discourse surrounding Indiana Fever rookie and women’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark grows louder, some of the discussion has taken an uglier turn toward racism and misogyny directed at the rest of the WNBA.

On Thursday, Clark refuted that language and said he doesn’t want his name used in that context.

“Everyone in our world deserves the same respect. The women in our league deserve the same respect,” Clark he said in response to a question from James Boyd of The Athletic. “People should not use my name to push those agendas.”

Clark’s response came later an answer to a question posed by The Athletic’s Jim Trotter earlier Thursday, in which Clark said the use of his name as a weapon is out of his control.

“I’m just here to play basketball,” Clark said.

The response, which some perceived as dismissive of the widespread intolerance in the conversation, drew criticism, including from Connecticut Sun staffer Dijonai Carrington, who aware about the answer in X.

“It’s crazy that one doesn’t mind having their name used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia and the intersectionalities of them all,” Carrington wrote. “We all have a platform. We all have a voice and everyone has weight. Silence is a luxury.”

Boyd asked Clark the more specific question, related to racism and misogyny, shortly after Carrington’s post. There, the former Iowa guard was clearer.

“I think treating every woman in this league with the same respect is a basic human thing that everyone should do,” Clark said. “I think it’s very simple.”

Clark has had to deal with a lot of noise since joining the WNBA in April, most recently for being excluded from Team USA’s Olympic roster, a perceived slight by many of her fans. Clark herself said that she considers being left off the team “something to work through.”

On Thursday night, Clark and the Fever won their fourth game of the season with a 91–84 victory over the Atlanta Dream. Clark scored seven points on 3-of-11 shooting, adding four rebounds and six assists. Aliyah Boston led Indiana with 27 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Kelsey Mitchell’s 24 points.

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