Caitlin Clark responds to accusations of racism following WNBA's statement: 'They're not fans.' They are trolls

WNBA rookie phenom Caitlin Clark has completed her first professional season and has already left an undeniable impact on the league. In just one year, Clark was credited with attracting countless new fans to help the league break attendance and television ratings records.

However, Clark doesn't approve of all of the league's new followers.

During the Indiana Fever's exit interviews Friday following the team's playoff loss to the Connecticut Sun, Clark was asked about a statement released by the WNBA that condemned “racist, derogatory or threatening comments” directed at Indiana Fever players, coaches and other personalities. league.

The statement came after Sun forward Alyssa Thomas accused Fever fans of racism.

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Clark denounced anyone following the WNBA who made damaging comments about players.

“They're not fans. They're trolls,” Clark said.

“No one in our league should face any form of racism, disrespectful or hurtful comments and threats.”

Connecticut Sun Star Alyssa Thomas directly pointed the finger at Indiana Fever fans after the team's playoff win, while teammate DiJonai Carrington revealed an email she received filled out on Instagram racist insults.

“We have been professional throughout this matter, but I have never been treated like this on social media, and there is no place for that,” Thomas said. “Basketball is going in a great direction, but no, we don't want fans who are going to degrade us and call us racial names.”

Race and racism have become frequent topics of discussion related to Clark's presence and focus on women's basketball in recent years.

Clark has been the target of racist comments from fans and tipsters since his rise to stardom.

ESPN's Pat McAfee called Clark a “white bitch” during a June 3 episode of his nationally televised show and later apologized. In May, “The View” host Sunny Hostins said on an episode of that show that Clark's popularity was due, in part, to “white privilege.”

INSIDE CAITLIN CLARK AND ANGEL REESE'S IMPACT ON MEN'S BASKETBALL

Caitlin Clark (22) of the Indiana Fever drives to the basket during game two of the first round of the playoffs against the Connecticut Sun on September 25, 2024, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, several opposing players, including longtime college and professional rival Angel Reese, claimed to have been the target of racist attacks from Clark's fans.

Reese directly accused Clark's fans of being racist and attacking her online in a September 5 episode of her podcast.

“I think it's really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, who are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes, it “It's very disrespectful. I think there's a lot of racism when it comes to that,” Reese said.

Reese said. she was the victim of widespread online harassment, and it first intensified when she and her college team, LSU, beat Clark and Iowa in the 2010 women's basketball championship game. NCAA 2023. When LSU held a big lead in the final minutes of that game, Reese pointed to his ring finger in a now-infamous photo that angered some Clark fans. On his podcast, Reese said that moment “changed my life forever.”

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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts during the first half against the Connecticut Sun in Game 2 of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on 25 September 2024. (Paul Rutherford/Imagn Images)

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy reposted a video of the clip, with the caption “A classless piece of shit,” on X. It's a post that has been viewed 79.5 million times on of its publication. Portnoy then launched similar attacks on Reese throughout the 2024 tournament.

When Reese and LSU lost in that year's Final Four to Clark and Iowa, Reese cried in the press box about the threats she had received over the last year. Reese's teammate, Hailey Van Lith, blamed racism for Reese's treatment at that same press conference.

“A lot of people who are making these comments are racist toward my teammates,” Van Lith said.

Sun player DiJonai Carrington, who poked Clark in the eye with her nail during Connecticut's Game 1 win over Fever Sunday, previously criticized Clark for not doing more to call out racism among her own fans in an X post in June.

“Dawg. How anyone can't be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia and their intersectionalities is crazy,” Carrington wrote. “We all see the [s—]. We all have a platform. We all have a voice and they all carry weight. Silence is a luxury.”

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