Imagine a basketball player wanting to focus on … basketball. Oh, the humanity!
A reporter for The Athletic asked Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark about her name being used to weaponize a certain perceived agenda, to which she replied that she couldn’t really control the narrative.
“It’s not something I can control. … And to be honest, I don’t see a lot of it,” she replied.
“People can talk about what they want to talk about,” Clark added. “I’m just here to play basketball.”
#IndianaFever’s Caitlin Clark on her name being weaponized in non-sports topics:
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) June 13, 2024
“It’s not something I can control. … And to be honest, I don’t see a lot of it.”
“People can talk about what they want to talk about. … I’m just here to play basketball.”
Qs by @JimTrotter_NFL pic.twitter.com/VhGC7cIgLf
RELATED: Even Caitlin Clark Can’t Save The WNBA As League Is Set To Lose $50 Million
Blowback To Caitlin Clark Response To Her Name Being Used To Push An Agenda
Of course, it goes without saying that the reporter was framing the question in a manner in which to draw out a controversial response. Because he clearly had his own agenda.
And while Caitlin Clark made her answer on people using her for an agenda as sanitized as possible, some still found a way to be outraged.
Connecticut Sun guard Dijonai Carrington ran with the reporter’s premise in responding to Clark.
“How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts,” Carrington wrote.
“We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.”
Offers A More Detailed Response
Having been sufficiently shamed, Clark was again asked a similar question with again, the same false premise. This time, she replied that it was “disappointing” for her name to be used to support a perceived racial agenda.
“I think it’s disappointing,” she pushed back. “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.”
“Just treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect is just a basic human thing that everyone should do,” added Clark. “Just be a kind person and treat them how you would want to be treated.”
The irony here is that the biggest star in the league being victimized by a racial agenda, according to some analysts, might be Clark herself.
ESPN personality Pat McAfee has said he believes there is a racial element to the Indiana Fever star being targeted with hard fouls.
His colleague, Stephen A. Smith, concurs.
“There are girls – young ladies – in the WNBA who are jealous of Caitlin Clark. She is a white girl that has come into the league,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take.
The WNBA is poised to lose $50 million despite interest in the game at unprecedented levels due primarily to Caitlin Clark. All because her fellow players and the media that cover the sport actively want to force feed the public with their own agenda.
Clark’s response is reminiscent of Michael Jordan when he famously defended sticking to basketball and marketing himself rather than getting caught up in race and politics.
Basketball players just wanting to play basketball. What a concept.
More about:WNBA
Read This Next
