Sports commentators from opposite echo chambers, Jemele Hill and Riley Gaines, are in the middle of a social media feud, sparked by Caitlin Clark’s comments about race playing a role in her success.
As part of winning TIME Magazine’s Athlete of the Year, Clark gave an extensive interview in which she discussed many aspects of her fame, including how race has played a role in her status.
“I want to say I’ve earned everything, but as a white person I have privileges,” Clark said TIME. “A lot of the players in the league who have been really good have been black players. This league is kind of built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that and then brands and companies can continue to invest in the players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s really important.”
Gaines, who rose to fame as an All-American swimmer at Kentucky and has actively campaigned against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, including competitor Lia Thomas, disagreed with Clark’s statement. Gaines now works with OutKick and hosts their Gaines for Girls podcast.
“No one asked for Caitlin Clark to position herself as a right-wing hero. All she had to do was stay neutral,” Gaines said on social media. “She is a phenomenon who inspires countless young girls to play and achieve, so I still have great admiration for her, but on this point she has missed the mark.”
Hill questioned how Clark missed the mark with an opinion and replied to Gaines, as Clark’s comments had been criticized by others in conservative media.
Gaines posted on social media that she disapproved of Caitlin Clark’s comments about race
Hill responded to Gaines, criticizing her attack on Clark for standing up for black women
Clark’s comments came after her story about being named TIME’s Athlete of the Year
“You shout all the time about supporting and ‘protecting’ women, and yet the moment Caitlin Clark expresses appreciation and respect for the black women in the WNBA (whom she grew up watching and idolizing) you suddenly behave like a disappointed parent,” Hill added. ‘Chili, you can’t say it any louder about yourself.’
And just like that, the feud between the former college athlete rooting for President-elect Donald Trump and the former ESPN talent who was once suspended from the network for calling then-incumbent President Trump a “racist” was settled.
“White privilege” in the WNBA is literally hilarious. Maybe you are like Sunny Hostin and think that CC also has great privileges, beautiful privileges and real privileges. There are many black players in the WNBA that I also love and respect, but I don’t admire them because they are black. I admire them for their playing. That’s the difference,” Gaines replied.
Hostin, best known as a panelist on ABC’s “The View,” previously emphasized that Clark is popular because of her appearance and race.
“You’re deliberately missing the point,” Hill replied to Gaines. “White privilege is real, and sports is no exception. CC is self-aware enough to understand that Black women who have achieved similar things to her have not been given the same marketing and support opportunities.”
“Before this year, every WNBA player with their own shoe was white. For a long time, even when Serena Williams was the No. 1 player in the world, Maria Sharapova was making more money than her from endorsements because Serena was not considered suitable for high-end brands. The funny thing is you see the inequality women face when they’re white, and for some reason you want to play dumb when they’re black women.”
Gaines then posted an earlier interview Hill did with the Los Angeles Times, in which he pulled some excerpts from the piece.
‘Is this you? Saying Caitlin Clark’s race and sexuality makes her “problematic”? Clark isn’t the problem. She is the solution,” Gaines said. It must be so exhausting being a professional racebaiter for so long.”
Hill may have taken Gaines’ last line, which was continually repeated by her opponents, as a low blow. So Hill fired back.
“Girl, you need to thank Lia Thomas every day of your life for helping you become famous, otherwise you would have just been a decent college swimmer who no one knew. You wrote the book on scams, not me,” Hill said.
Lia Thomas was a transgender swimmer who competed against Gaines a few years ago
Volleyball player Blaire Fleming has also made headlines for participating in women’s sports
“I notice that you did not post the original LA Times piece in which my comments appeared, which provided the full context of my comments. Instead, you posted an op-ed in which I deliberately misrepresented myself. In the same article I called her a generational talent and the female Steph Curry. If you have difficulty reading and understanding, just say so.’
“How deeply regressive and extremely misogynistic of Jemele Hill to tell me to thank a man for the platform I have. Thank him for what? Transgress us in the locker room? Stealing a national title from a deserving woman? Indirectly strip us of our 1A rights? Just say you hate women, @jemelehill,” Gaines shot back.
Thomas won a women’s swimming national championship in 2022 under the NCAA banner, the first transgender athlete to do so. World Aquatics later banned her from competing in women’s swimming events.
“I didn’t ask for the platform I have. It would have been fine if I had been a decent college swimmer, married my best friend, and gone to dentistry. Sounds like a dream to me,” Gaines continued.
“I have faced threats and violent attacks because of my position. You have to be clinically insane to want that for yourself. I do what I do because it’s the right thing, and at that time there were very few. So let me ask you directly: Do you believe men belong in women’s sports?’
Hill has not directly responded to Gaines’ most recent posts on social media, but has continued to respond to those who think she is wrong.
Gaines was also in the news recently, supporting San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser, who is also trying to block the NCAA from allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, a direct shot at her Spartan teammate Blaire Fleming.
The NCAA did not penalize San Jose State for playing Fleming, meaning she and the school followed proper protocols for her involvement in sports.
Clark’s popularity has put every word she says under a microscope. The Indiana Fever star himself has not posted about the feud on social media.
Fellow women’s basketball player and UConn guard Paige Bueckers made similar comments about elevating Black women in basketball in the past at the 2021 ESPYs, when she won the female college athlete of the year at the award show.
Bueckers, who will turn pro in 2025, hasn’t been criticized to the level that the WNBA Rookie of the Year was, possibly because of the status of the sport three years ago compared to now, thanks largely to Clark.