Caitlin Clark pushes back at being used to push racist and sexist agendas

Caitlin Clark has defended her fellow WNBA players and pushed back on the toxic discourse from some quarters that has accompanied her rookie season in the league.

Clark was drafted No 1 overall by the Indiana Fever after a record-breaking college career with Iowa. She has been on the receiving end of some hard fouls and has struggled at times on a Fever team that has limped to a 4-10 record. She was also left off the USA roster for next month’s Olympics.

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That has led to a significant amount of racist, sexist and homophobic comments online from people purporting to defend Clark, who is white, in a league where the majority of players are Black and many are gay.

On Thursday, Clark pushed back against prejudice online from those who claim to be her fans.

“People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable,” Clark said. “... Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it’s just a basic human thing that everybody should do.”

Clark had previously defended Chennedy Carter, who received vitriol online after fouling the former Iowa star in a game earlier this month. However, Clark also said that social media is “not something I can control”. That led to a rebuke from Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington, who said Clark should do more to speak out about online abuse.

“Dawg. 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 see the sh*t. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.”

Carrington appeared to mock Clark during the Sun’s victory over the Fever on Monday, when she gestured that her opponent had exaggerated the effects of a foul.