Caitlin Clark, an Indiana Fever rookie, has spoken out against online users who have exploited her name to disparage other WNBA players, stating that any racist or misogynistic comments are “not acceptable.”
“People should not use my name to promote their goals. It is disappointing. “It’s not acceptable,” Clark said Thursday when asked about the remarks. “… 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’s name has come up in cultural wars and internet arguments as a result of her celebrity, as well as her status as a white basketball player, including why she was kept off the Team USA Olympic basketball team and how she handled a number of hard fouls committed against her early in her WNBA career. Clark stated earlier Thursday that bringing her up online was “not something I can control.”
“I don’t put too much thought and time into thinking about things like that, and to be honest, I don’t see a lot of it,” Clark stated. “Basketball is my work. I have no influence over anything on the outside, so I’m not going to think about it.
That quote, along with Clark’s previous comments about staying off social media, attracted criticism from Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington, who wrote on social media that Clark should do more to speak out against people using her name for improper purposes.
“Dawg. How someone can be unconcerned about their name being used to defend racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, and their intersectionalities is beyond me,” Carrington said. “Everyone sees the [s—]. We each have a platform. We all have a voice, and they all carry weight. “Silence is a luxury.”
Carrington and Clark had a memorable exchange during the Sun’s victory over the Fever on Monday, when Carrington appeared to mock Clark’s reaction to being fouled. Carrington disregarded at least one social media post from a person who said she would have been kicked out for her activities if she were white.
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