Since being selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever has been labeled a superstar before she even steps onto the professional court.
And even though the Fever got off to a slow start — they're 2-9 after being blown out by the New York Liberty on Sunday night — Clark's star status continues to shine in Indiana.
However, there has been some controversy surrounding Clark despite only playing 11 games, including an incident with Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter during Saturday's 71-70 victory.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark brings the ball up the field against the Chicago Sky on June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Brian Spurlock/Sportswire Icon via Getty Images)
Clark's acclimation to the WNBA has been the subject of many sports talk shows, but ESPN's “The Pat McAfee Show” took it to a different level Monday morning. The former NFL kicker and his team created an entire slideshow on what they think about Clark's critics who say she's only a superstar because she's a white woman in the league.
“I wish the media would keep saying, 'This rookie class, this rookie class, this rookie class.' No, just call it what it is: There's a white asshole for the Indiana team who's a superstar,” said McAfee, who has had Clark on his show and has been seen at games of Fever given his status in Indiana. .
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“Is it because she stayed at Iowa and put an entire state on her back? Is it because she took a program from nothing to success over several years? Is it because was she going to break the NCAA history points record? Not just Kelsey Plum's women's record – well done – but also “Pistol” Pete Maravich's. Is there any chance people would just like it. watching her play basketball because of what she represents? how did she manage to do what she wanted?
SKY'S CHENNEDY CARTER RIPS CAITLIN CLARK AFTER REFUSING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT FAULT
“But instead we have to hear people say that we only like her because she's white. And she's only popular because the rest of the rookie class does what they do. C This is a bunch of bulls—, and we think the WNBA, and especially its referees, need to stop trying to screw it over at every turn. What you have is someone special, and we're lucky she's here in Indiana.”
McAfee also called Clark a “cash cow” for the WNBA, although he doesn't think the rest of the league should act any differently around her when it's time to play.
“Athletes will do what athletes will do in any sport,” he said. “I think we're all learning that the WNBA…it's old-fashioned football. It's old-fashioned football.”
Pat McAfee speaks at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center before Super Bowl LVIII on February 8, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Candice Ward/Getty Images)
McAfee is referring to Carter's hip check on Clark during Saturday's game, which was later labeled by the WNBA as a Level 1 flagrant violation instead of a common foul. Both players were biting each other before the incident, and Clark hit the deck as Carter openly bumped into her after making a bucket.
Carter then suggested that Clark had flopped, while tearing her apart on social media, saying that aside from the three-point shot, she brought nothing to the table.
Clark took the high road when asked about the incident, and she always responded that she didn't want players to treat her any differently on the field than they would the league's veterans .
However, Fever general manager Lin Dunn was frank with her opinion on what happened this weekend.
“There is a difference between tough defense and useless targeting actions!” Dunn wrote in an article on X. “This needs to stop! The league needs to 'clean up' (sic) the s—! This is NOT who this league is!!”
Pat McAfee opened her Monday show with a segment on Caitlin Clark and how the WNBA has a “cash cow” thanks to its superstar. (Getty Images)
Clark had his worst game of his early career Sunday at Barclays Center, shooting just 1 of 10 for three points.
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However, Clark is the second player in WNBA history to total at least 100 points, 50 rebounds and 50 assists in her first 10 games, joining Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu in that feat. She did so after putting up 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the win over Chicago.
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