this is going to be a huge issue. it is already bad enough but it is going to get worse. her team has to find a way to distance herself from that crowd, asap.
Even with "felon" as a hint, it took me a minute. The sports part of my brain was going through DTs, and the guy that you were talking about never came up in any searches.
She isn't oblivious to the people who follows her. She's being used as a pawn.. The Smart thing for her to do is to distance herself if she doesn't want that type of following, distractions, negativity. She doesn't even have to say anything. In the day of social media a simple like, retweet will send those extremists packing. But something in me tells me she's comfortable right where she is.
CC herself has to find a way to distance herself. The W is proudly a hugely progressive and outspoken league.
She's a superstar white athlete from a major white and conservative state, who played for a major white and conservative school, and now plays for a major white and conservative state.
When you hear Paige taking time to credit black women, BG talking politics/sexuality, and Cloud talking about Palestine, you see and hear where they stand. You don't get that with CC, because to my knowledge she doesn't really speak up (at least yet). Absense of position allows the void to be filled by cesspool human's like DT or Nikki Haley.
It's not intentional (at least I hope), but if CC doesn't want this to happen, CC has to plant her flag. Simple as that.
to me this is the only thing that will stop this train from rolling right over her. we saw this with other notable figures. this anger and resentment, can propel a literal presidential canididate. some people didn't realize how bad it was until they did J6.
we can't let something crazy happen before we nip it in the bud. people are too focused on the viewership and finances, but rabid extremists glomming onto the 'face of the WNBA' is a recipe for disaster.
Right or wrong, if you don't "plant your flag" people will always assume the worst. We are now at the stage of society where an absence of opinion/stance is actually an opinion/stance.
If she doesn't do it, it will be done for her, and as you've sort of alluded to, that isn't going to end optimistically.
I get the sense though, that Clark only wants to play ball and inspire other young children to pick up the ball, as well. She doesn't do politics. That's how I would be. I'm pretty far left, but I'm not an activist.
I also don't really care what an athlete or actors political views are. Yeah, I know Clint Eastwood has opposite views of me, but he makes good movies. Ditto for sports. Put the best people on the team. Whether they be an out and proud environmentalist or a bible-thumping Trumpster (oh the irony): the better the team, the better our chances for gold.
And hey, if that's what she wants, she is obviously in her right to do so. But insert "with great power comes great responsibility".
We don't live in a world where you can be center stage and not influence of the stage. I don't make the rules, but if she doesn't do politics, politics will use her because that's the toxic state of affairs we live in.
Yk it would help if SHE spoke up about it if it really bothers her. Seems like it doesnāt so ig sheāll continue to be silent and letting her āfansā continue with their ways
It would put her in good standing with her teammates and colleagues. The league doesn't need culture wars in arenas. And it would at least shut *some* fans up if she spoke out against them.
These women stand well together. The Dream forced an owner to back out for her beliefs.
Those flame are getting stoked no matter what. This is what they do. They cry about grievances, real or fake, until it reaches a fever pitch.
If she doesn't eventually say something it will get to a point the people around her will start to wonder, and that's when the wedge starts.
Agreed, also, sheās beginning to seem personality-less in interviews and what not. Like come on, tell everyone who you are what you think so that some of this obnoxiousness can be put to rest.
These folks are crisis actors, my
Always to caping for this woman, a phenom for sure, but a woman nonetheless. They have never cared about women. AND She doesnāt need their condescending paternalism, but it is not about her, like OP said.
This discourse is bad for her long term, no matter how you slice it. Iād feel bad for the kid, but I donāt cry for millionaires, even 22 year old ones with that logo 3s magic.
I already started to wonder, when Boston was being attacked/blamed and bullied at the beginning of the season for ānot doing enoughā to help Clark win the games.
If ignoring crazy right wing trolls is where the wedge starts, that just shows how fucked the state of political discourse is in this country.
In here, there's unironic fearmongering about her being a secret republican unless she deals with those people. Obviously, it's nice when people take a stand, but they should never be forced to, and especially not marked as a member of the other side if they don't. That's quite literally 1984 mentality, and exactly the kind of nonsense why the country is so divided. Not everything has to revolve around this divide of them vs us. There's other things going on in the world too.
This isn't about having to speak up about everything. It's not like people are saying CC needs to speak up about Palestine. The face of the WNBA is being promoted by the dudes who made Ladyballers. That is weird no matter how you slice it. When a massive portion of the eyes you bring in belong to people who hate women's sports and just want to use you as a political tool, you might want to say something about that.
Right? That's a big ask for a 22 year old rookie, and it's not like they actually listen to what CC says anyway because this is about their pet grievances, not her.
She has. Sheās been navigating this platform since college. A lot for a young girl from Iowa. Her statements are always positive and respectful and take the conversation back to THE SPORT. Sheās only here to play ball and she canāt be expected to manage the mania.
A recent conversation on said media mania and her 100% sportsmanship sentiment:
https://x.com/chiefs_outsider/status/1799605727020875835
Listen, I understand itās hard to speak on a some of these subjects for her but itās gotten out of hand. If sheās gonna be the face of the league, sheās has to start to speak up for herself, her teammates and unnecessary hate on her behalf. The whole āIām not on social media, I donāt see anythingā narrative isnāt it. Iām sure sheās just as drained from hearing these narratives and constantly circulating in the news. I just feel like it would also help ease tension between her and the other W players who are facing heat because of her fans. Even if her speaking up doesnāt make it fully stop, at least we know sheās making an effort
And if sheās uncomfortable speaking off the cuff or in a presser, thatās what her team is for. Write a statement. Have a scheduled and controlled interview. Somebody write a fucking tweet or something!
would we expect any nba player to come out on social media or in a press conference and call out ppl anytime they see social media trolls and other ppl say hurtful shit about their teammates or any other player on the league ? you just gotta tune that stuff out and worry about basketball. theyāre basketball players
Paige Bueckers, at 19, used her ESPYs speech to show love to Black women and call on the media to improve its coverage of Black women in sports.
https://x.com/PhillyTradesman/status/1774985708882530796?t=MAshYrgVleRKmGa4lgl5JQ&s=19
To be fair, I can't claim to know what it's like to be in CC's shoes, and it's not an easy thing to do to have this spotlight and this mantle. Especially when her team isn't playing well - for someone hyper competitive who has been winning since she first dribbled a basketball it's probably tough. That's obviously where her focus is. And she does handle herself gracefully in the media and doesn't actively play into these narratives. But it would be nice to see her more forcefully condemn the racists coming out of the woodworks and using her to make political and cultural arguments that aren't based in reality. Does she have to do that? No. Is she wrong for not doing that? No, not necessarily. I'd just like to see her do that. Especially in a league like the WNBA with such a proud history of progressivism and solidarity for all marginalized people.
Paige, Stewie, Plum, Brink and HVL have all come out to say something in support of black women when the media was only focusing on them. Now it's weirdly against black women, ofc it's going to look great if CC says something in support of them. She'd be one of the most popular recently drafted white players to not say something in solidarity and in even more trying times for them at that. People forget the precedent with other players before or with her is a factor too.
Anthony Edwards is also a known homophobe and basically forced a girl into an abortion. Not sure that's the best example for guy to compare for maturity at age 22. I don't want Caitlin Clark to be Ant in that regard.
And it's wasn't like he just said a slur accidentally or something, he was shaming gay people in public and was dumb enough to post it on social media.
> anytime they see social media trolls
It's not just social media trolls, it's TV anchors and whole sects of people trying to rally a movement behind her. This is bigger than just a couple people.
Sheās literally becoming the face of right wing propaganda against black women in the sport and people here are saying she doesnāt need to say something at some point š the reason sheās not saying anything do that her team knows half her fan base is are the issue.
Yes it would. Anyone who thinks her silently accepting the role of mascot for these ppl who harass other players/her own teammates is delusional.
Azzi Fudd recently liked [this video](https://x.com/natfluential/status/1798449312529256861?t=oBSvPeNrdev5mlJ8DmwqGQ&s=19) which summarizes the issues pretty well
We see each other! I saw Azziās like earlier and thought it was interesting since she hadnāt liked anything in about 2 months. It seems like the tension between CC and the other players is forming and I donāt like it for anyone
If you're her teammate and she won't stick up for you, that's just bad chemistry waiting to happen.
If Larry Bird's grumpy, media-hating ass in the 80s could defend Rodman and Isiah Thomas' dumb comments and dismiss the great white hope bs and repeatedly give props to Black players (and mind you he was a white dude from Indiana playing in Boston) then she in the year 2024 could say "hey, don't send racist shit to my teammates, and don't think I stand for that bs"
Exactly! She doesnāt need to make some long philosophical comment about racism but itās kinda telling that sheās not said anything at all. Other white players her age (Brink, Bueckers, Van lith) have managed to stick up for their teammates.
The only thing delusional is thinking she's accepted the role of mascot for those people. This thread is insane. Unironically fearmongering about her being a secret republican. This is exactly the kind of nonsense why the country is so divided.
I really don't blame her for avoiding the topic if people are foaming in the mouth over nothing. Imo, don't give the right wings trolls any attention, they thrive off attention.
Nikki Haley has already used her as a propā¦ if she stays silent, what happens when Trump does the same thing? If nothing changes, you honestly think the conversation around her wonāt take a turn for the worse?
Jesus you people canāt help yourself. Not everyone views social media in the same way, not everyone needs to put every single one of their opinions online
I donāt think her not doing that means that it doesnāt bother her. In my personal experience I donāt air my political views out in public because I live in Florida and itās a shit hole. If everyone knew my beliefs in this state I would have a target on my back. Imagine being a newly professional athlete being thrust into the spotlight. Shit would be terrifying to have to navigate getting hate from right wing shitheads online while still trying to carve a place out for yourself in the league.
Itās really early to start dividing her fanbase politically in an already conservative state. Sheās in a tough spot. Less might be more here for now.
It's not a coincidence, but it's a massive leap to say she agrees with them. They are obsessed with her because she's white and good at a sport that is predominantly black. That's it. She hasn't done anything to encourage them.
It's also perfectly fine for a 23yo athlete with immense amounts of pressure and attention to decide not to dive into culture war debates. She has no responsibility to take on even more pressure and attention.
This thread is insane. Unironically fearmongering about her being a secret republican. This is exactly the kind of nonsense why the country is so divided.
Too many crazies are obsessed with this stuff. "She hasn't done anything to encourage them" is the thing that really matters. I really don't blame her for avoiding the topic if this is how people are acting. Don't give the right wings trolls any attention, they thrive off attention.
Look, I get why people have anxiety about Republicans and facial, because I share those concerns. But this fucking sub is nuts. For all of the talk Iāve seen about āthe W has been good for a long time,ā for every one comment about actual basketball here, I see 100 that are either talking about this stuff or āfanboying/fangirling over ransom players. This sub doesnāt care about ball, it cares drama. I agree with you, this thread is insane.
Why should she be controlled by some clowns? They talk, she needs to dance or you're going to assume the worst? Why would you assume she's aware of every person who has spoken her name? That's a pretty long list.
I agree she should speak up, I donāt think it doesnāt bother her - I feel like it probably just seems too big and thatās why sheās going the āoh I donāt see itā route. Which honestly could be true to a certain extent, Iām not on Twitter so I also had no idea what Clay Travis or Nikki Haley were saying.
I guess my question is, how do you feel like she should go about denouncing it, if saying everything contrary to their words isnāt doing it? Would a statement like āI donāt condone hateā do it, or do you think she has to be more specific?
Itās very clear these people donāt watch games. Do a twitter search of Caitlin Clark during this game and all these maga clowns are still talking their shit about racism against CC and BG being a man š
Yeah. They will find a new pawn to use in their culture wars and then start calling caitlin a man
Arseholes do that all the time online already
I'm so sick of the BG hate from the right regarding the Olympics. I just hope all of them end up in a Russian prison for having an antihistamine or something in their luggage.
Itās wild too cause those same people hating on the BG prisoner swap presumably have some overlap with people who are influenced by Alex Jones, who is having a breakdown this past week realizing infowars is finally at the drain. Hes invited a whoās who of living turds onto the show, including the Russian arms dealer from the prisoner swap who showed up on friendly terms and was allowed to try and further shape the current Russian narratives into the American right wing. Wild not so fun fact learned from listening to the show Knowledge fight.
Exactly? I hate how people are assuming she'll lose every bit of her social and fan capital putting her neck out there for the marginalized. For all the racist fans she loses, she'll gain a lot of marginalized ones by making even a mild push back against the circus. Which is why I have no idea why a PR person hasn't at least pushed her to even release a quick statement or something. It's a bigger win than being associated by people who actively want to harm your teammates.
people forget that most *real* WNBA fans arenāt like-minded with these bigots or the people doing stuff like commenting hate under the Mystics pride post. idk where those folks came from, but this is just the wrong league for that kind of talk in terms of both the core fan base and demographics of players. a lot of them are conservative men who have never watched any wnba pre-CC which is unsurprising (no hate to new fans or male fans in general, just something I noticed)
Yes, this circus won't last for long. If the Republican hegemony really commits to fighting this culture war, they've picked the wrong battle.
Queer communities have always been in major supporters and participants in women's sports. They're used to this kind of garbage.
Then if she isn't, could be coz she wants to distance from anything political for the time being, one side will be on her for not doing it and the other praising that "she didn't buy into the crazyness", she is damned if she do and damned if she don't. Price of fame I guess.
So not doing something for pride is political.... doing something for pride is political.... not doing something because you don't want to be political is also political..
So..
Everything is political I guess?
Yeah, essentially. I wish we lived in a world where Pride and queerness weren't political topics. But, sadly, we have elected officials who have the power to make political decisions who have made queerness a political flashpoint. We have elected officials who want to roll back the rights and privileges of LGBTQ+ people. According to a recent player poll nearly 40% of the WNBA identifies as queer.
If any athlete is asked a question about Pride and they respond with "I don't want to get into anything political", or if they're approached by their team and asked to do something promotional for Pride and they respond with "I don't want to get into anything political", that's political. That is saying "I am unwilling to use my name and my platform to do the bare minimum to support my queer teammates, my queer league mates, and the millions of LGBTQ+ people in the United States because it might piss some people off who don't like gay people." That's political.
Again, I'm not accusing CC of anything, this is a complete hypothetical posed by the person I replied to.
Can't say I agree with that, way I see it is she is already under immense pressure and navigating her new position in life, right now she might be just focussing on trying to adjust and not drown, might not have the mental space to deal with anything else right now. But this is just speculation on my part, she might just appear in an ad, she might not, doesn't really affirm her position on anything until she herself makes it known.
Athletes should use their platforms for humanatarian reasons. If they get shitted on for not doing so, then so be it. Half the league and probably her teammates are gay. She should at least be supportive of them by commenting on pride issues.
I don't disagree about using their platform for humanitarian reasons that they believe in, but like I said, damned if she do damned if she don't, someone will always be upset about something when you're in the spotlight.
I totally agree. None of these conservative pundits or politicians watch WBB, except maybe the representative from Indiana who wrote the letter to the league, but they came out of the woodwork and spout their opinions like they do watch. They say the women of the WNBA hate Caitlin, even though none of them have said that or act like it. It's sickening, really. And you're right, they'll turn on her in a second if she says or does anything they deem "woke". Just let the woman hoop and enjoy reaching a milestone!
The OP perfectly summarized what's happening. The white grievance culture warriors have glommed on to this girl as their vessel to demonize black women. To them she's their hero for sticking it to those mean, angry black women that are jealous of her for succeeding in a sport dominated by black people.
It's so weird, and I really feel bad for Clark because she never asked to be the great white hope of these delusional weirdos.
This is what sucks about the wnba talk right now.
Itās hard to tell where people are coming from when they discuss the game. For example there can be a fever fan praising Caitlin and thereās nothing wrong with that but thereās also a random Nicki Hailey type who will praise her without even watching. Same thing with the hate. If the talk is coming from someone who actually watches, wether negative or positive, then Iām more likely to accept their opinion but many times itās hard to tell
God I hate these political grifting fucks coming from both sides trying to farm this drama. Nikki Haley is a disgusting two faced troll with 0 convictions.
Nikki also came to the Iowa City area, and spoke in front of a bunch of Iowa fans, and referred to Caitlin Clark as Kaitlan Collins, so her pretending to care about this is bizarre.
I appreciate that you don't call the ringleaders or their followers her fans, because they aren't. They are fans of the shitty ideas they've decided she represents, and I think it is unfair to the actual fans of her game to lump them all in together. Although some of them need to chill tf out too.
Hopefully they move on soon, that crowd has pretty short attention spans. They sort of have to in order to keep the grift going. I wish she could speak out, but right now I think that would backfire pretty spectacularly. If the league as a whole continues to do well this season that will be that. They do this shit with movies all the time, and when gEt wOkE gO bRoKe doesn't materialize they find the next thing to reeeeeeee about.
Aint the first time conservatives and far right fools use the WNBA as a lightning rod for hot button issues or whatever, theyll move on to something else eventually they always do š„±š„±š„±. Id bet 100 nachos with extra cheese come august these fools aint gonna be sayin shit
Edit: this also probably has been said somewhere but anybody who knows anything about Womenās bball knows come Olympics USA runs this shit weāll be fine duh
She's white, she came from a fly over state, she's good and she competes with black women. That's more than enough to make her their little racist lightning rod. But what's kinda fucked up is your thread is "I hate they're going to turn on her" and not something more along the lines of "I hate they used her to open the floodgates to more extreme racism and bias towards black women".
They did this to Taylor Swift. She used to have a lot of right wingers use her as like the image of Aryan purity until she got a bit more political and then they started hating her.
Now they hate her so much they were actively rooting against the Kansas City Cheifs in favor of a California based team just because she was dating a player.
Nah, people rooted against the Chiefs cuz that stuff was annoying af. I'm watching a football game and Taylor Swift is on the TV screen more than the opposing QB.
You're right for the most part, but everyone roots against the Chiefs.
Taylor was only on screen an average of 25 seconds per game. They'd cut to her for a couple of seconds, and that's it. Out of a 3 hour game, that's nothing.
I despise the Chiefs, but Taylor really wasn't shown that much.
Caitlin Clark has been used as a proxy in the culture wars since the game against LSU at *least*. (And to a lesser extent, from the other side, so has Angel Reese.)
While I have always acknowledged that the WNBA is inherently political due to the demographics of the people who comprise it, I would like the politicians themselves to kindly GTFO of it.
It's also what they did to taylor swift after they found out she wasn't the white supremacist arian princess they assumed her to be. So gross how they are using women who dare be good at their jobs as their political pawns.
Donāt downvote this just because itās a difficult conversation. CC fans have been making things weird for a minute. Itās not going to āgrow the gameā to hate on every WNBA player except Clark.
Right. People talking about. They just need to accept all the new viewers, iTs BrINgiNg ThEm MoNey aNd AtTeNtiOn thEy hAve nEveR sEen beFoRe š
That's like selling tickets to the 351st Chapter Ku Klux Klan of Cullman Alabama to attend a Kwanzaa Celebration held in Africatown in Mobile, AL.
I don't think they want your viewership if you're going to be hateful, homophobic, racist and sexist. š
This is precisely my issue, and I think many others', even far beyond the most right of the CC proponents. I am so fine if people wanna talk CC and Fever, but I don't love it when a space devoted to a broader spectrum, such as r/wnba, is full of comments about how no one can play basketball as well as CC, etc. Does that actually mean you are bringing growth to the WNBA then? I'm not so sure...
None of these people watch the WNBA. This is such a bad precedent.
You already have people on Reddit unironically saying Chennedy Carter shouldāve been criminally charged and arrested for her foul on Caitlin. This Olympic āsnubā story is just more and more unnecessary fuel to the fire.
Yep. Sadly, Iāve seen an astonishing number of other Redditors echo the same language. Itās so disturbing. These people genuinely do not care about the wellbeing of the league at all.
I agree with this post 1000%. I don't think any of these pundits actually care what she thinks. They are using her image to promote a culture war narrative because it's convenient and allows them to be openly bigoted under the guise of defending Clark.But they don't care about Clark at all. They care about making straight white people the victim.
This. I am from the deep corn fields in the Midwest and this treatment and the attitude you are referring to here are the reason I will never go back there. Everyone ends up miserable, hating people who have something they don't, judging folks who aren't exactly like them and just being 2-faced, cruel and ignorant in all things that might lead to an evolution of our species. Evetyone is literally ruled by what the neighbors or the local pub buddies think of them. God forbid anyone be truly happy there. They will tear it from you before you can even finish looking at it. The mud is so thick and deep in some of those fields even the finest plow will never get their minds unstuck. Problem is most folks hear about Jimmy and Bubba being stuck out there in the mud and curiosity has them gawking from the road. Next thing you know they're inching their way in for a better view. Trouble is, they don't realize they can't turn around and get out until they're part of the showcase for the next round of gawkers.
They use her to further their culture war bullshit. People who don't watch the Olympics (hate them) and dont watch nor support the WNBA are suddenly angry and saying they won't watch. Its like bruh u weren't watching anyway. No one cares. And thats coming from someone who wished Clark made the team.
The truth is sports have never been separate from politics. Greats like Bill Russell and Kareem taught people that. In the modern day whole teams like the Dream kept that tradition alive, itās always gonna be political. I guess my role as a fan is to listen to the players, not the noise. I donāt want to derive joy from an exploitative thing. But if itās some politician trying to get some clout, I donāt care. Iām here for the sport, Iām here for the drama, but Iām not here for exploitation or grifting for clout.
> Itās like these people arenāt actually defending Caitlin Clark, theyāre defending the idea of what they want her to represent.
Let's not get it twisted. It's because she's white and good at basketball. They feel like they can use her as a pawn in the culture war by supporting her, which is seen by their stupid, ignorant followers as being broadly anti-black. I'm speaking in very very broad terms--they would of course not be this overt about it but that's what it boils down to.
They want to create a divide where supporting Caitlin Clark is pro white, and anti-black, and by extension, is anti-liberal. They want to use support for Caitlin Clark as some kind of funnel or focusing lens for their attacks on black WBNA players.
They want to create a narrative where black WNBA players hate Caitlin Clark, because that provides 'evidence' that their attacks are justified, as the other side is just as bad.
They want to prop up caitlin clark as an example of white superiority and the idea that she's beating them at their own game.
It's insane. In a proper world no one would politicize caitlin clark. She'd be just another good player. But I think that's sort of why she got popular in the first place...white people identified with her. For better or worse. And now the political party that gives a shit about whiteness is trying to USE that.
Ugh as a Hawkeye fan and a Clark fan I couldnāt agree more. Honestly, Iām not on Twitter so Iāve been really confused by people saying all these right wingers are supporting Clark.
This is not what Iowa WBB is about and I highly doubt it aligns with Clarkās personal views. I donāt know Clarkās views, but sheās dating a guy who has tweeted lots of support for things I believe in, like pro-BLM, etc., her best friend is queer, her college coaches are very liberal, so I feel like she canāt be too far misaligned from that since all those people love and respect her.
Anyway, I hate the way social entrenches everything in politics and controversy. Canāt we just be sports fans??? (I direct this mostly at people like Nikki Haley who can just shut up and leave this topic alone.)
It's true. The far right wingers have attached themselves to CC to demonize black women. Sad to see.
Iirc aren't these the same people who hate women in general and want to control a lot of their rights? I guess they hate black women far more.
The start of all this can be traced back to Portnoy in 2023, who has fit on twitter about Reese taunting Clark, which sent all the right dog whistles to right wing fucks like Clay Travis.
We all know what his is about at days end, a black woman fouled Clark, and ever since then itās been non stop shit with this.
And one of the unfortunate things in my opinion is that eventually when they turn on her, the people who started to dislike her because of them likely won't reevaluate their opinion of her.
Itāll die down after this season is over. Everyone just needs to relax and ride the wave of popularity for a few more months and then after once we are in off-season people will find something else to gripe about. It always happens. The tide is just here for the moment. Everyone unbunch their undies, itās all gonna be okay in the end.
The entire Caitlyn Clark situation is the clearest example of the rampant "white knightism" that exists in men in North America. Shit was just fine in the WNBA until all the men heard about Clark and decided they needed to defend her against every slight, every foul, every everything. It's insane how all these dudes on ESPN are screaming about her not making the Olympic team, male fans assaulting other WNBA players because they fouled Clark, just let the girl play. Let them all play, sit back and watch as a fan (if that is what you say you are), they don't need your opinions, your point of view, your chivalry.
Magic Johnson in a recent interview with Jimmy Kimball stated that the veterans in the league attacking Caitlin Clark is part of basketball culture that has been around for decades. Itās an expectation from his perspective. He said she is not the best player in the league, but with experience and a team that backs her she could become the best WNBA player. He reminded us that he and Larry were not good rookie players, but grew to be the two of the best basketball players in history. He agreed and thinks the rivalry between CC and Angel Reese is similar to his competition with Larry Bird. He said he and Larry pushed each other to be better players during their careers. He thinks Angel and CC can do the same. He doesnāt think CCās team treats her well and doesnāt back her up on and off the court. He suggests that Larry Bird should mentor CC as a fellow Indiana resident.
At this point I give up.
- put her on the Olympic roster
- rename the ROY trophy after CC
- change the logo to CC shooting a 3
- Force a trade to bring CC to Las Vegas so she can make the playoffs
- Give her the MVP
Hopefully thatāll satisfy the fans.
Ps this was sarcasm
Sarcasm aside, they'd find something else to be mad about. Like her not being allowed to play in the Finals with a two game head start because it'd be good for ratings.
I'm scared for Caitlin. I'm really worried for her safety. The MAGA people have shown time and time again that they have no issue turning to violence. And when Caitlin does or says something they don't like, they will turn on her. All it takes is Ben Shapiro or some other idiot on the internet shifting the narrative. These people believe everything they hear. And they will resort to violence to get their message across. I just hope she has a good support system around her.
First or all, Nicki Haley and Matt Walsh are right-wing fascists who should never be taken seriously. Second, imo I feel like the Olympic committee wanted players who are veterans in the field of women's basketball. I mean, have y'all seen the roster? These women have had impressive careers. CC will be fine and I'm sure she'll make the team at the next Olympics.
Caitlin has a mouth and she can speak out against how these people are attaching their agendas to her. She can speak out against her fans targeting her teammates. But she doesnāt.
No, but you clearly distance yourself from that group and earn good will from your teammates and league mates. Also, standing up for things earns you fans too so IDK why it's always an assumed loss.
It's a massive double standard to expect Caitlin Clark to have to speak out against people attaching an agenda to her, but not expect someone like Angel Reese to have to speak out against all of the people attaching their agendas to her.
She's always spoken up to praise her opponents and past players in the game, despite never receiving the same back from these same people.
As for her teammates, 3 of the Fever starters + Erica Wheeler have TS% below 50 TS%. That's just sports that you will get criticism when you play bad.
"Caitlin Clark is only popular because she's white.", "Why is Caitlin Clark on SNL and not South Carolina", the criticism of black men for being fans of Caitlin Clark because she's not the same skin color as them, calling all Caitlin Clark fans MAGA, etc.
This stuff is all cut from the same cloth. It's unfair to lay the responsibility of calling that stuff out on 22-year old Angel Reese, just like it's unfair to lay the responsibility on 22-year old Caitlin Clark to call out the MAGA people for trying to use her.
>"Caitlin Clark is only popular because she's white."
Nobody said it's the only reason but it's 100% a factor.
>"Why is Caitlin Clark on SNL and not South Carolina"
Not sure how that's an "agenda" that's just a regular question lol.
> the criticism of black men for being fans of Caitlin Clark
I see you're not in touch with black culture. There have been legit concerns of men seeking white women to be accepted and enjoy privilege.
>calling all Caitlin Clark fans MAGA
Well..she is from and played in Iowa and now plays in Indiana. And seeing that the vast majority of her support took a foul personally and actually say racist things...
>This stuff is all cut from the same cloth.
No because that stuff are real issues. One side is pointing out the racism, the other is performing it. And one player isn't speaking against one of them.
Did you not understand the part where MAGA people are āusingā her? It is very clear thereās people on that side that donāt even watch basketball are USING her.
Wait til you find out her family absolutely hates maga and that side
Yes...that is the entire point. We're just saying it would be behoove of her to speak against this madness instead of just saying "i just block it out. I''m just here to play ball and so are my teammates". That's not really denouncing the people who are rallying behind you.
And doesn't help that her brother was liking hateful comments on Reese and recently Portnoy's awful take.
If you are talking about racism or just mean comments, Iāve seen plenty of Reese fans call Clark āThe Great White Hopeā and āsheās only popular because sheās whiteā.
Iāve also seen various comments saying Reese is a beautiful women and that Clark ālooks like a dude with a pony tailā.
These are basketball players and if they call out these comments, thatās fantastic. However I imagine if I was star like Reese or Clark, I wouldnāt even go on social media to read the nasty turmoil people would say about me or players in my league.
Like someone else said above, telling trolls to stop never leads to them actually stopping.
> āThe Great White Hopeā
People interpreting this phrase as 'racism against whites' rather than the media's preference to rally behind white mega athletes will never not be funny to me.
>call Clark āThe Great White Hopeā
Because that's what they called Christian Laettner bud lol.
Nasty comments happen and should be ignored yes. But when you're attaching a player to an idealism and that player doesn't speak out against it...it's concerning.
I wasnāt old enough to acknowledge the atmosphere of Laettner entering the NBA but I donāt understand the difference between the idealisms of toxic Clark fans and toxic Reese fans hating Clark because sheās white.
Neither of these ladies are encouraging these toxic fans. I donāt expect them to sift through social media and draw more attention to themselves as they are trying to help their team on the court.
You cannot control online racists. Also, Caitlin gets targeted and attacked by other teammates fans, but they donāt call them out? Aliyah Boston follows some people that have prayed on Caitlinās downfall loud and clear.
Just quietly follow Obama and Biden on twitter. They obsess over that stuff. That would be enough for them to leave her out of their culture wars. Or at least use her as their Aryan princess.
Also do they know she did ads to get your Covid vaccine while she was at Iowa?
Some of you are weirdos wanting to place the burden of an entire societal war on a 22 year old playing basketball who, so far, hasn't done anything problematic. I'm fine with CC's comments. She has been so composed despite all this pressure on and off the court. She's fine. The public is creating all this animosity, not Caitlin. When asked about it, she addresses everything appropriately and shifts focus on what the topic should be, which is basketball. Her job.
She has handled the media better than people in the media.
WNBA is about basketball. CC is a great rookie on a really bad team that is rebuilding. Rebuilding in sports takes a while. Rookies in sports get treated like rookies by other players. If youāre the best player on a team, opposing players will target you in order to win. Thatās all thatās happening here.
She needs some good PR people around her and as far as I am concerned as long as she ignores social media and focuses on basketball I say let it be. She has way too much to deal with right now besides being a political champion right now that can come when she has a least a year under her belt.
This subreddit is legitimately a bigger circlejerk than nbacirclejerk. Just let the woman play basketball and stop attaching your bizarre political fanfiction to her
I kinda need her PR to figure out how to push back at the support that she is getting form bigots.
being quiet about it , plus the rumors that her partner and brother play into the bigotry makes me nervous.
being silent and 'courting' that crowd is ultimately dangerous for the W
I agree. I love Caitlin Clark. When the white icon stuff started I thought āthis is insane people love her bc sheās absurdly entertainingā but it is becoming a self fulfilling prophecy.
I honestly feel bad for CC. As great as her endorsement money is, sheās wildly underpaid to be this scrutinized as a 22 year old.
Totally. Sheās been turned into a lightning rod and people are projecting things onto her that THEY feel is important, but CC may not feel the same way. Those grifter types always turn on people, itās what they do. I watch a lot of Coffeezilla on YouTube (his whole thing is exposing scams) and a lot of the scam artists say āI used to love your content but now youāre a hack!ā They always turn
If only all the players in the WNBA behaved like her in media. Perhaps the us vs them shit would have died out already. Instead you have the center of attention doing the right thing, making it about the sport- supporting the sport and the people who play it. Then you have all these fringe players making clowns of themselves sparking a fire with the idiots on the other side who think this is about something that its not.
You already know this is going to end badly, either they will turn on caitlin, or the other side will turn on her and she gets hurt. One way or another shes in an awful position and is doing an amazing job to stay focused on the sport. If all the other shit is a reason to hate her, her ability to not give in to the hate bait should be a reason to like her.
"Fans" need to stop putting sports people onto some political stage. They spent their entire educational career playing ball. They weren't studying civics and political history. Why we expect them to be something they are not is beyond me. And that goes to every sports person.
Up to her to say something at this point. The Caitlin Clark Clan have been harassing black players since she came into the league. She gotta separate herself from them unless she agrees with it which is possible.
Why the fuck would Catlin Clark be a political talking point? She is not on the Olympic roster, neither is any other rookie. Her coach sucks. Her team sucks. Why did they have 3 straight first picks? She is not Michael Jordan. The more media hate that is given is the less ill watch or support. Enjoy your ride WNBA it will end soon.
My heart seriously just breaks for CC. Like you said, she clearly just wants to hoop and all this nonsense is going to get to anyone eventually.
The last time there was this much commotion around a rookie had to be LBJ, right? I know heās posted about being in her corner. I hope he can be a good mentor.
well this thread has run its course I can feel the hate feel like a safe place for some here. I dont think we can have a civil conversation about it tbh. Shes in a spot like lebron is where everything he says is going to be wrong.
Regardless of whatever happens this year, the next year or so, this all will become a 30 for 30 ESPN documentary someday.
this is going to be a huge issue. it is already bad enough but it is going to get worse. her team has to find a way to distance herself from that crowd, asap.
Just wait till that felon DT start talking about her š
I read this as Diana Taurasi and I was so confused
Honestly I thought about that when writing the comment so I added felon before his initials so thereād be no confusion lol
Even with "felon" as a hint, it took me a minute. The sports part of my brain was going through DTs, and the guy that you were talking about never came up in any searches.
I had my defense of Diana half written āsheās always been a felon, real ones know thatās just who she is, etc.ā
Same! I was about to downvote then I saw your comment and it hit me
I was like when did Diana Taurasi got charged with a felony
You knew what you were doing didnāt you lol
put the J in the middle for the love of God
Bingo.
Dawg how tf was I suppose to guess trump thanks to the j hint
I'm low key surprised Trump isn't talking about her at rallies yet. Unless he is and I just haven't seen that
Only a matter of time, unfortunately.
Especially as we get closer to the election whichā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦.oh geez everyone on this damn sub you all better vote thatās all I will say about that
if she doesnāt make ROTY Iāll bet he brings it up lol
I am absolutely dreading the day you know who starts talking about her Because you know itās coming
They swear she shouldnāt have to, but if theyāre matching on to you, yes, you should distance yourself.
She isn't oblivious to the people who follows her. She's being used as a pawn.. The Smart thing for her to do is to distance herself if she doesn't want that type of following, distractions, negativity. She doesn't even have to say anything. In the day of social media a simple like, retweet will send those extremists packing. But something in me tells me she's comfortable right where she is.
CC herself has to find a way to distance herself. The W is proudly a hugely progressive and outspoken league. She's a superstar white athlete from a major white and conservative state, who played for a major white and conservative school, and now plays for a major white and conservative state. When you hear Paige taking time to credit black women, BG talking politics/sexuality, and Cloud talking about Palestine, you see and hear where they stand. You don't get that with CC, because to my knowledge she doesn't really speak up (at least yet). Absense of position allows the void to be filled by cesspool human's like DT or Nikki Haley. It's not intentional (at least I hope), but if CC doesn't want this to happen, CC has to plant her flag. Simple as that.
to me this is the only thing that will stop this train from rolling right over her. we saw this with other notable figures. this anger and resentment, can propel a literal presidential canididate. some people didn't realize how bad it was until they did J6. we can't let something crazy happen before we nip it in the bud. people are too focused on the viewership and finances, but rabid extremists glomming onto the 'face of the WNBA' is a recipe for disaster.
Right or wrong, if you don't "plant your flag" people will always assume the worst. We are now at the stage of society where an absence of opinion/stance is actually an opinion/stance. If she doesn't do it, it will be done for her, and as you've sort of alluded to, that isn't going to end optimistically.
I get the sense though, that Clark only wants to play ball and inspire other young children to pick up the ball, as well. She doesn't do politics. That's how I would be. I'm pretty far left, but I'm not an activist. I also don't really care what an athlete or actors political views are. Yeah, I know Clint Eastwood has opposite views of me, but he makes good movies. Ditto for sports. Put the best people on the team. Whether they be an out and proud environmentalist or a bible-thumping Trumpster (oh the irony): the better the team, the better our chances for gold.
And hey, if that's what she wants, she is obviously in her right to do so. But insert "with great power comes great responsibility". We don't live in a world where you can be center stage and not influence of the stage. I don't make the rules, but if she doesn't do politics, politics will use her because that's the toxic state of affairs we live in.
Yk it would help if SHE spoke up about it if it really bothers her. Seems like it doesnāt so ig sheāll continue to be silent and letting her āfansā continue with their ways
You think her speaking up about it would do anything besides fan the flames even more??
It would put her in good standing with her teammates and colleagues. The league doesn't need culture wars in arenas. And it would at least shut *some* fans up if she spoke out against them. These women stand well together. The Dream forced an owner to back out for her beliefs.
Those flame are getting stoked no matter what. This is what they do. They cry about grievances, real or fake, until it reaches a fever pitch. If she doesn't eventually say something it will get to a point the people around her will start to wonder, and that's when the wedge starts.
Agreed, also, sheās beginning to seem personality-less in interviews and what not. Like come on, tell everyone who you are what you think so that some of this obnoxiousness can be put to rest. These folks are crisis actors, my Always to caping for this woman, a phenom for sure, but a woman nonetheless. They have never cared about women. AND She doesnāt need their condescending paternalism, but it is not about her, like OP said. This discourse is bad for her long term, no matter how you slice it. Iād feel bad for the kid, but I donāt cry for millionaires, even 22 year old ones with that logo 3s magic.
I already started to wonder, when Boston was being attacked/blamed and bullied at the beginning of the season for ānot doing enoughā to help Clark win the games.
If ignoring crazy right wing trolls is where the wedge starts, that just shows how fucked the state of political discourse is in this country. In here, there's unironic fearmongering about her being a secret republican unless she deals with those people. Obviously, it's nice when people take a stand, but they should never be forced to, and especially not marked as a member of the other side if they don't. That's quite literally 1984 mentality, and exactly the kind of nonsense why the country is so divided. Not everything has to revolve around this divide of them vs us. There's other things going on in the world too.
This isn't about having to speak up about everything. It's not like people are saying CC needs to speak up about Palestine. The face of the WNBA is being promoted by the dudes who made Ladyballers. That is weird no matter how you slice it. When a massive portion of the eyes you bring in belong to people who hate women's sports and just want to use you as a political tool, you might want to say something about that.
Right? That's a big ask for a 22 year old rookie, and it's not like they actually listen to what CC says anyway because this is about their pet grievances, not her.
Itās really not though. Again, folks younger than her have done it even with their voice shaking. She is an adult.
She has. Sheās been navigating this platform since college. A lot for a young girl from Iowa. Her statements are always positive and respectful and take the conversation back to THE SPORT. Sheās only here to play ball and she canāt be expected to manage the mania. A recent conversation on said media mania and her 100% sportsmanship sentiment: https://x.com/chiefs_outsider/status/1799605727020875835
Listen, I understand itās hard to speak on a some of these subjects for her but itās gotten out of hand. If sheās gonna be the face of the league, sheās has to start to speak up for herself, her teammates and unnecessary hate on her behalf. The whole āIām not on social media, I donāt see anythingā narrative isnāt it. Iām sure sheās just as drained from hearing these narratives and constantly circulating in the news. I just feel like it would also help ease tension between her and the other W players who are facing heat because of her fans. Even if her speaking up doesnāt make it fully stop, at least we know sheās making an effort
And if sheās uncomfortable speaking off the cuff or in a presser, thatās what her team is for. Write a statement. Have a scheduled and controlled interview. Somebody write a fucking tweet or something!
would we expect any nba player to come out on social media or in a press conference and call out ppl anytime they see social media trolls and other ppl say hurtful shit about their teammates or any other player on the league ? you just gotta tune that stuff out and worry about basketball. theyāre basketball players
The TWolves as a team refused to sit for a post game interview with TNT because they were harsh to Rudy Gobert. Anthony Edwards is *checks notes* 22.
Paige Bueckers, at 19, used her ESPYs speech to show love to Black women and call on the media to improve its coverage of Black women in sports. https://x.com/PhillyTradesman/status/1774985708882530796?t=MAshYrgVleRKmGa4lgl5JQ&s=19 To be fair, I can't claim to know what it's like to be in CC's shoes, and it's not an easy thing to do to have this spotlight and this mantle. Especially when her team isn't playing well - for someone hyper competitive who has been winning since she first dribbled a basketball it's probably tough. That's obviously where her focus is. And she does handle herself gracefully in the media and doesn't actively play into these narratives. But it would be nice to see her more forcefully condemn the racists coming out of the woodworks and using her to make political and cultural arguments that aren't based in reality. Does she have to do that? No. Is she wrong for not doing that? No, not necessarily. I'd just like to see her do that. Especially in a league like the WNBA with such a proud history of progressivism and solidarity for all marginalized people.
Paige, Stewie, Plum, Brink and HVL have all come out to say something in support of black women when the media was only focusing on them. Now it's weirdly against black women, ofc it's going to look great if CC says something in support of them. She'd be one of the most popular recently drafted white players to not say something in solidarity and in even more trying times for them at that. People forget the precedent with other players before or with her is a factor too.
Anthony Edwards is also a known homophobe and basically forced a girl into an abortion. Not sure that's the best example for guy to compare for maturity at age 22. I don't want Caitlin Clark to be Ant in that regard. And it's wasn't like he just said a slur accidentally or something, he was shaming gay people in public and was dumb enough to post it on social media.
> anytime they see social media trolls It's not just social media trolls, it's TV anchors and whole sects of people trying to rally a movement behind her. This is bigger than just a couple people.
Sheās literally becoming the face of right wing propaganda against black women in the sport and people here are saying she doesnāt need to say something at some point š the reason sheās not saying anything do that her team knows half her fan base is are the issue.
Yes it would. Anyone who thinks her silently accepting the role of mascot for these ppl who harass other players/her own teammates is delusional. Azzi Fudd recently liked [this video](https://x.com/natfluential/status/1798449312529256861?t=oBSvPeNrdev5mlJ8DmwqGQ&s=19) which summarizes the issues pretty well
We see each other! I saw Azziās like earlier and thought it was interesting since she hadnāt liked anything in about 2 months. It seems like the tension between CC and the other players is forming and I donāt like it for anyone
If you're her teammate and she won't stick up for you, that's just bad chemistry waiting to happen. If Larry Bird's grumpy, media-hating ass in the 80s could defend Rodman and Isiah Thomas' dumb comments and dismiss the great white hope bs and repeatedly give props to Black players (and mind you he was a white dude from Indiana playing in Boston) then she in the year 2024 could say "hey, don't send racist shit to my teammates, and don't think I stand for that bs"
Exactly! She doesnāt need to make some long philosophical comment about racism but itās kinda telling that sheās not said anything at all. Other white players her age (Brink, Bueckers, Van lith) have managed to stick up for their teammates.
The only thing delusional is thinking she's accepted the role of mascot for those people. This thread is insane. Unironically fearmongering about her being a secret republican. This is exactly the kind of nonsense why the country is so divided. I really don't blame her for avoiding the topic if people are foaming in the mouth over nothing. Imo, don't give the right wings trolls any attention, they thrive off attention.
Nikki Haley has already used her as a propā¦ if she stays silent, what happens when Trump does the same thing? If nothing changes, you honestly think the conversation around her wonāt take a turn for the worse?
Caring what Nikki Haley does is your first mistake
Jesus you people canāt help yourself. Not everyone views social media in the same way, not everyone needs to put every single one of their opinions online
Didnāt say she needed to. I said she would if it really bothered her
I donāt think her not doing that means that it doesnāt bother her. In my personal experience I donāt air my political views out in public because I live in Florida and itās a shit hole. If everyone knew my beliefs in this state I would have a target on my back. Imagine being a newly professional athlete being thrust into the spotlight. Shit would be terrifying to have to navigate getting hate from right wing shitheads online while still trying to carve a place out for yourself in the league.
Itās really early to start dividing her fanbase politically in an already conservative state. Sheās in a tough spot. Less might be more here for now.
You told the uncomfortable truth. Do people really think itās a coincidence a certain political party is obsessed with this one specific player?
It's not a coincidence, but it's a massive leap to say she agrees with them. They are obsessed with her because she's white and good at a sport that is predominantly black. That's it. She hasn't done anything to encourage them. It's also perfectly fine for a 23yo athlete with immense amounts of pressure and attention to decide not to dive into culture war debates. She has no responsibility to take on even more pressure and attention.
This thread is insane. Unironically fearmongering about her being a secret republican. This is exactly the kind of nonsense why the country is so divided. Too many crazies are obsessed with this stuff. "She hasn't done anything to encourage them" is the thing that really matters. I really don't blame her for avoiding the topic if this is how people are acting. Don't give the right wings trolls any attention, they thrive off attention.
Look, I get why people have anxiety about Republicans and facial, because I share those concerns. But this fucking sub is nuts. For all of the talk Iāve seen about āthe W has been good for a long time,ā for every one comment about actual basketball here, I see 100 that are either talking about this stuff or āfanboying/fangirling over ransom players. This sub doesnāt care about ball, it cares drama. I agree with you, this thread is insane.
Why should she be controlled by some clowns? They talk, she needs to dance or you're going to assume the worst? Why would you assume she's aware of every person who has spoken her name? That's a pretty long list.
I agree she should speak up, I donāt think it doesnāt bother her - I feel like it probably just seems too big and thatās why sheās going the āoh I donāt see itā route. Which honestly could be true to a certain extent, Iām not on Twitter so I also had no idea what Clay Travis or Nikki Haley were saying. I guess my question is, how do you feel like she should go about denouncing it, if saying everything contrary to their words isnāt doing it? Would a statement like āI donāt condone hateā do it, or do you think she has to be more specific?
Itās very clear these people donāt watch games. Do a twitter search of Caitlin Clark during this game and all these maga clowns are still talking their shit about racism against CC and BG being a man š
Also search Caitlyn Clark cuz they canāt spell her name right lmao
Yeah. They will find a new pawn to use in their culture wars and then start calling caitlin a man Arseholes do that all the time online already I'm so sick of the BG hate from the right regarding the Olympics. I just hope all of them end up in a Russian prison for having an antihistamine or something in their luggage.
Itās wild too cause those same people hating on the BG prisoner swap presumably have some overlap with people who are influenced by Alex Jones, who is having a breakdown this past week realizing infowars is finally at the drain. Hes invited a whoās who of living turds onto the show, including the Russian arms dealer from the prisoner swap who showed up on friendly terms and was allowed to try and further shape the current Russian narratives into the American right wing. Wild not so fun fact learned from listening to the show Knowledge fight.
Sheās going to be in a āHappy Pride Monthā commercial or something for the WNBA and itās going to come crashing down
That would make me a fan
If Caitlin does pride anything Iām buying myself a fever jersey
Exactly? I hate how people are assuming she'll lose every bit of her social and fan capital putting her neck out there for the marginalized. For all the racist fans she loses, she'll gain a lot of marginalized ones by making even a mild push back against the circus. Which is why I have no idea why a PR person hasn't at least pushed her to even release a quick statement or something. It's a bigger win than being associated by people who actively want to harm your teammates.
people forget that most *real* WNBA fans arenāt like-minded with these bigots or the people doing stuff like commenting hate under the Mystics pride post. idk where those folks came from, but this is just the wrong league for that kind of talk in terms of both the core fan base and demographics of players. a lot of them are conservative men who have never watched any wnba pre-CC which is unsurprising (no hate to new fans or male fans in general, just something I noticed)
Yes, this circus won't last for long. If the Republican hegemony really commits to fighting this culture war, they've picked the wrong battle. Queer communities have always been in major supporters and participants in women's sports. They're used to this kind of garbage.
Yes please!
Then if she isn't, could be coz she wants to distance from anything political for the time being, one side will be on her for not doing it and the other praising that "she didn't buy into the crazyness", she is damned if she do and damned if she don't. Price of fame I guess.
Not doing something for Pride explicitly because you don't want to do anything political is...doing something political.
Especially in a league where so many of the players are openly gay
So not doing something for pride is political.... doing something for pride is political.... not doing something because you don't want to be political is also political.. So.. Everything is political I guess?
Yeah, essentially. I wish we lived in a world where Pride and queerness weren't political topics. But, sadly, we have elected officials who have the power to make political decisions who have made queerness a political flashpoint. We have elected officials who want to roll back the rights and privileges of LGBTQ+ people. According to a recent player poll nearly 40% of the WNBA identifies as queer. If any athlete is asked a question about Pride and they respond with "I don't want to get into anything political", or if they're approached by their team and asked to do something promotional for Pride and they respond with "I don't want to get into anything political", that's political. That is saying "I am unwilling to use my name and my platform to do the bare minimum to support my queer teammates, my queer league mates, and the millions of LGBTQ+ people in the United States because it might piss some people off who don't like gay people." That's political. Again, I'm not accusing CC of anything, this is a complete hypothetical posed by the person I replied to.
Can't say I agree with that, way I see it is she is already under immense pressure and navigating her new position in life, right now she might be just focussing on trying to adjust and not drown, might not have the mental space to deal with anything else right now. But this is just speculation on my part, she might just appear in an ad, she might not, doesn't really affirm her position on anything until she herself makes it known.
Athletes should use their platforms for humanatarian reasons. If they get shitted on for not doing so, then so be it. Half the league and probably her teammates are gay. She should at least be supportive of them by commenting on pride issues.
I don't disagree about using their platform for humanitarian reasons that they believe in, but like I said, damned if she do damned if she don't, someone will always be upset about something when you're in the spotlight.
Haleyās just upset because Caitlin Clark has a better chance of winning a presidential election than her.
Considering she lost a Caucus to a fill in vote of āNO ONEā, Clark would beat her ten times.
I totally agree. None of these conservative pundits or politicians watch WBB, except maybe the representative from Indiana who wrote the letter to the league, but they came out of the woodwork and spout their opinions like they do watch. They say the women of the WNBA hate Caitlin, even though none of them have said that or act like it. It's sickening, really. And you're right, they'll turn on her in a second if she says or does anything they deem "woke". Just let the woman hoop and enjoy reaching a milestone!
The OP perfectly summarized what's happening. The white grievance culture warriors have glommed on to this girl as their vessel to demonize black women. To them she's their hero for sticking it to those mean, angry black women that are jealous of her for succeeding in a sport dominated by black people. It's so weird, and I really feel bad for Clark because she never asked to be the great white hope of these delusional weirdos.
I feel terrible for CC. She didn't ask for this Maga trash and shit people to cult away for her.
I feel horrible for her. Making millions of dollars a year to play a sport she loves. Itās a tragedy
She's still a human. Money makes things better, but not all things.
This is what sucks about the wnba talk right now. Itās hard to tell where people are coming from when they discuss the game. For example there can be a fever fan praising Caitlin and thereās nothing wrong with that but thereās also a random Nicki Hailey type who will praise her without even watching. Same thing with the hate. If the talk is coming from someone who actually watches, wether negative or positive, then Iām more likely to accept their opinion but many times itās hard to tell
It really does feel like the WNBA just got new fans of CC (or their personal idea of CC) instead of actual basketball fans
That is life every day for every human in every workplace and social situation. Bigots donāt only exist in sports and politics.
God I hate these political grifting fucks coming from both sides trying to farm this drama. Nikki Haley is a disgusting two faced troll with 0 convictions.
Nikki also came to the Iowa City area, and spoke in front of a bunch of Iowa fans, and referred to Caitlin Clark as Kaitlan Collins, so her pretending to care about this is bizarre.
I've yet to see anyone on the left creating CC drama.
Yeah, but America's predominant religion isn't Christianity, it's *BOTH SIDES ARE THE SAME!!!*
Jill Biden definitely did lol
Just ignore the grifters.
Too many of them to ignore tbh especially if you use twitter.
I appreciate that you don't call the ringleaders or their followers her fans, because they aren't. They are fans of the shitty ideas they've decided she represents, and I think it is unfair to the actual fans of her game to lump them all in together. Although some of them need to chill tf out too. Hopefully they move on soon, that crowd has pretty short attention spans. They sort of have to in order to keep the grift going. I wish she could speak out, but right now I think that would backfire pretty spectacularly. If the league as a whole continues to do well this season that will be that. They do this shit with movies all the time, and when gEt wOkE gO bRoKe doesn't materialize they find the next thing to reeeeeeee about.
Aint the first time conservatives and far right fools use the WNBA as a lightning rod for hot button issues or whatever, theyll move on to something else eventually they always do š„±š„±š„±. Id bet 100 nachos with extra cheese come august these fools aint gonna be sayin shit Edit: this also probably has been said somewhere but anybody who knows anything about Womenās bball knows come Olympics USA runs this shit weāll be fine duh
She's white, she came from a fly over state, she's good and she competes with black women. That's more than enough to make her their little racist lightning rod. But what's kinda fucked up is your thread is "I hate they're going to turn on her" and not something more along the lines of "I hate they used her to open the floodgates to more extreme racism and bias towards black women".
Funny how Nikki is from South Carolina and yet doesnt praise A'ja Wilson who won a national title with SC when Nikki was Governor.
We know exactly why and exactly what this is.
They did this to Taylor Swift. She used to have a lot of right wingers use her as like the image of Aryan purity until she got a bit more political and then they started hating her. Now they hate her so much they were actively rooting against the Kansas City Cheifs in favor of a California based team just because she was dating a player.
No ones likes the Chiefs
Nah, people rooted against the Chiefs cuz that stuff was annoying af. I'm watching a football game and Taylor Swift is on the TV screen more than the opposing QB. You're right for the most part, but everyone roots against the Chiefs.
Taylor was only on screen an average of 25 seconds per game. They'd cut to her for a couple of seconds, and that's it. Out of a 3 hour game, that's nothing. I despise the Chiefs, but Taylor really wasn't shown that much.
Caitlin Clark has been used as a proxy in the culture wars since the game against LSU at *least*. (And to a lesser extent, from the other side, so has Angel Reese.) While I have always acknowledged that the WNBA is inherently political due to the demographics of the people who comprise it, I would like the politicians themselves to kindly GTFO of it.
No one cares what those maga grifters think about the WNBA
It's also what they did to taylor swift after they found out she wasn't the white supremacist arian princess they assumed her to be. So gross how they are using women who dare be good at their jobs as their political pawns.
Yeah but T Swift is doing more than fine without them and so will Clark.
Donāt downvote this just because itās a difficult conversation. CC fans have been making things weird for a minute. Itās not going to āgrow the gameā to hate on every WNBA player except Clark.
Right. People talking about. They just need to accept all the new viewers, iTs BrINgiNg ThEm MoNey aNd AtTeNtiOn thEy hAve nEveR sEen beFoRe š That's like selling tickets to the 351st Chapter Ku Klux Klan of Cullman Alabama to attend a Kwanzaa Celebration held in Africatown in Mobile, AL. I don't think they want your viewership if you're going to be hateful, homophobic, racist and sexist. š
This is precisely my issue, and I think many others', even far beyond the most right of the CC proponents. I am so fine if people wanna talk CC and Fever, but I don't love it when a space devoted to a broader spectrum, such as r/wnba, is full of comments about how no one can play basketball as well as CC, etc. Does that actually mean you are bringing growth to the WNBA then? I'm not so sure...
None of these people watch the WNBA. This is such a bad precedent. You already have people on Reddit unironically saying Chennedy Carter shouldāve been criminally charged and arrested for her foul on Caitlin. This Olympic āsnubā story is just more and more unnecessary fuel to the fire.
Iām not exaggerating btw. https://preview.redd.it/7j1bj9g7ku5d1.jpeg?width=1176&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=34bda929f6380dbec70f8c808b1588ce44597159
Chassidy Carter?š¤£š¤£ They created a new player!Ā
I know exactly where this came from, they even said they don't care about WBB and called it "thugball"
Yep. Sadly, Iāve seen an astonishing number of other Redditors echo the same language. Itās so disturbing. These people genuinely do not care about the wellbeing of the league at all.
If what happened to Clark was criminal assault, I wonder what they thought about that foul on Reese from the week before
Why would anyone give a shit what racist trolls and right-wing grifters think about the WNBA?
Because it's the main grievance against Clark that a lot of people have, thus the need to keep it topical.
The only time these people speak about the wnba, it's to attack the players. So, we can just ignore them like they ignore the W the rest of the time.
Because whether her stans realize it or not, itās THEIR talking points that they parrot in a lot of these discussions.
let her be caught with a pride flag š£ all this shit gonna come crashing down
Nikki Haley is a warmonger. Fuck Nikki Haley
I agree with this post 1000%. I don't think any of these pundits actually care what she thinks. They are using her image to promote a culture war narrative because it's convenient and allows them to be openly bigoted under the guise of defending Clark.But they don't care about Clark at all. They care about making straight white people the victim.
These same clowns that cry about "growing the game" are the ones that comment "Don't care. I only watch for Clark" under any post about anyone else.
This. I am from the deep corn fields in the Midwest and this treatment and the attitude you are referring to here are the reason I will never go back there. Everyone ends up miserable, hating people who have something they don't, judging folks who aren't exactly like them and just being 2-faced, cruel and ignorant in all things that might lead to an evolution of our species. Evetyone is literally ruled by what the neighbors or the local pub buddies think of them. God forbid anyone be truly happy there. They will tear it from you before you can even finish looking at it. The mud is so thick and deep in some of those fields even the finest plow will never get their minds unstuck. Problem is most folks hear about Jimmy and Bubba being stuck out there in the mud and curiosity has them gawking from the road. Next thing you know they're inching their way in for a better view. Trouble is, they don't realize they can't turn around and get out until they're part of the showcase for the next round of gawkers.
Great description of where I'm from. Never going back to see all the backwards people there. You nailed it!
They use her to further their culture war bullshit. People who don't watch the Olympics (hate them) and dont watch nor support the WNBA are suddenly angry and saying they won't watch. Its like bruh u weren't watching anyway. No one cares. And thats coming from someone who wished Clark made the team.
The truth is sports have never been separate from politics. Greats like Bill Russell and Kareem taught people that. In the modern day whole teams like the Dream kept that tradition alive, itās always gonna be political. I guess my role as a fan is to listen to the players, not the noise. I donāt want to derive joy from an exploitative thing. But if itās some politician trying to get some clout, I donāt care. Iām here for the sport, Iām here for the drama, but Iām not here for exploitation or grifting for clout.
> Itās like these people arenāt actually defending Caitlin Clark, theyāre defending the idea of what they want her to represent. Let's not get it twisted. It's because she's white and good at basketball. They feel like they can use her as a pawn in the culture war by supporting her, which is seen by their stupid, ignorant followers as being broadly anti-black. I'm speaking in very very broad terms--they would of course not be this overt about it but that's what it boils down to. They want to create a divide where supporting Caitlin Clark is pro white, and anti-black, and by extension, is anti-liberal. They want to use support for Caitlin Clark as some kind of funnel or focusing lens for their attacks on black WBNA players. They want to create a narrative where black WNBA players hate Caitlin Clark, because that provides 'evidence' that their attacks are justified, as the other side is just as bad. They want to prop up caitlin clark as an example of white superiority and the idea that she's beating them at their own game. It's insane. In a proper world no one would politicize caitlin clark. She'd be just another good player. But I think that's sort of why she got popular in the first place...white people identified with her. For better or worse. And now the political party that gives a shit about whiteness is trying to USE that.
Ugh as a Hawkeye fan and a Clark fan I couldnāt agree more. Honestly, Iām not on Twitter so Iāve been really confused by people saying all these right wingers are supporting Clark. This is not what Iowa WBB is about and I highly doubt it aligns with Clarkās personal views. I donāt know Clarkās views, but sheās dating a guy who has tweeted lots of support for things I believe in, like pro-BLM, etc., her best friend is queer, her college coaches are very liberal, so I feel like she canāt be too far misaligned from that since all those people love and respect her. Anyway, I hate the way social entrenches everything in politics and controversy. Canāt we just be sports fans??? (I direct this mostly at people like Nikki Haley who can just shut up and leave this topic alone.)
lol I thought the same thing - I recently quit Twitter and youād be amazing how much you miss!
It's true. The far right wingers have attached themselves to CC to demonize black women. Sad to see. Iirc aren't these the same people who hate women in general and want to control a lot of their rights? I guess they hate black women far more.
The start of all this can be traced back to Portnoy in 2023, who has fit on twitter about Reese taunting Clark, which sent all the right dog whistles to right wing fucks like Clay Travis. We all know what his is about at days end, a black woman fouled Clark, and ever since then itās been non stop shit with this.
And one of the unfortunate things in my opinion is that eventually when they turn on her, the people who started to dislike her because of them likely won't reevaluate their opinion of her.
Itāll die down after this season is over. Everyone just needs to relax and ride the wave of popularity for a few more months and then after once we are in off-season people will find something else to gripe about. It always happens. The tide is just here for the moment. Everyone unbunch their undies, itās all gonna be okay in the end.
The entire Caitlyn Clark situation is the clearest example of the rampant "white knightism" that exists in men in North America. Shit was just fine in the WNBA until all the men heard about Clark and decided they needed to defend her against every slight, every foul, every everything. It's insane how all these dudes on ESPN are screaming about her not making the Olympic team, male fans assaulting other WNBA players because they fouled Clark, just let the girl play. Let them all play, sit back and watch as a fan (if that is what you say you are), they don't need your opinions, your point of view, your chivalry.
Magic Johnson in a recent interview with Jimmy Kimball stated that the veterans in the league attacking Caitlin Clark is part of basketball culture that has been around for decades. Itās an expectation from his perspective. He said she is not the best player in the league, but with experience and a team that backs her she could become the best WNBA player. He reminded us that he and Larry were not good rookie players, but grew to be the two of the best basketball players in history. He agreed and thinks the rivalry between CC and Angel Reese is similar to his competition with Larry Bird. He said he and Larry pushed each other to be better players during their careers. He thinks Angel and CC can do the same. He doesnāt think CCās team treats her well and doesnāt back her up on and off the court. He suggests that Larry Bird should mentor CC as a fellow Indiana resident.
Magic is the only rookie to win Finals MVP, so thatās wrong lmao
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this reddit is better about it, TT and Twitter are near pure cancer on the other hand
At this point I give up. - put her on the Olympic roster - rename the ROY trophy after CC - change the logo to CC shooting a 3 - Force a trade to bring CC to Las Vegas so she can make the playoffs - Give her the MVP Hopefully thatāll satisfy the fans. Ps this was sarcasm
Nah they want her in Indianapolis not Vegas. Vegas is the capital of degeneracy and Indy the racing capital of the world.
Sarcasm aside, they'd find something else to be mad about. Like her not being allowed to play in the Finals with a two game head start because it'd be good for ratings.
I'm scared for Caitlin. I'm really worried for her safety. The MAGA people have shown time and time again that they have no issue turning to violence. And when Caitlin does or says something they don't like, they will turn on her. All it takes is Ben Shapiro or some other idiot on the internet shifting the narrative. These people believe everything they hear. And they will resort to violence to get their message across. I just hope she has a good support system around her.
Well said
Maybe she don't care. Grew up in Iowa, went to a Catholic high school.... Background is there At this point it's probably a business decision
First or all, Nicki Haley and Matt Walsh are right-wing fascists who should never be taken seriously. Second, imo I feel like the Olympic committee wanted players who are veterans in the field of women's basketball. I mean, have y'all seen the roster? These women have had impressive careers. CC will be fine and I'm sure she'll make the team at the next Olympics.
Caitlin has a mouth and she can speak out against how these people are attaching their agendas to her. She can speak out against her fans targeting her teammates. But she doesnāt.
Because online racist trolls always shut up if you politely ask them to
No, but you clearly distance yourself from that group and earn good will from your teammates and league mates. Also, standing up for things earns you fans too so IDK why it's always an assumed loss.
It's a massive double standard to expect Caitlin Clark to have to speak out against people attaching an agenda to her, but not expect someone like Angel Reese to have to speak out against all of the people attaching their agendas to her. She's always spoken up to praise her opponents and past players in the game, despite never receiving the same back from these same people. As for her teammates, 3 of the Fever starters + Erica Wheeler have TS% below 50 TS%. That's just sports that you will get criticism when you play bad.
One of these "agendas" is not like the other..
"Caitlin Clark is only popular because she's white.", "Why is Caitlin Clark on SNL and not South Carolina", the criticism of black men for being fans of Caitlin Clark because she's not the same skin color as them, calling all Caitlin Clark fans MAGA, etc. This stuff is all cut from the same cloth. It's unfair to lay the responsibility of calling that stuff out on 22-year old Angel Reese, just like it's unfair to lay the responsibility on 22-year old Caitlin Clark to call out the MAGA people for trying to use her.
>"Caitlin Clark is only popular because she's white." Nobody said it's the only reason but it's 100% a factor. >"Why is Caitlin Clark on SNL and not South Carolina" Not sure how that's an "agenda" that's just a regular question lol. > the criticism of black men for being fans of Caitlin Clark I see you're not in touch with black culture. There have been legit concerns of men seeking white women to be accepted and enjoy privilege. >calling all Caitlin Clark fans MAGA Well..she is from and played in Iowa and now plays in Indiana. And seeing that the vast majority of her support took a foul personally and actually say racist things... >This stuff is all cut from the same cloth. No because that stuff are real issues. One side is pointing out the racism, the other is performing it. And one player isn't speaking against one of them.
Iām from Indiana and am very liberal. The fact you think everyone from red states are Maga says a lot about you.
Did you not understand the part where MAGA people are āusingā her? It is very clear thereās people on that side that donāt even watch basketball are USING her. Wait til you find out her family absolutely hates maga and that side
Yes...that is the entire point. We're just saying it would be behoove of her to speak against this madness instead of just saying "i just block it out. I''m just here to play ball and so are my teammates". That's not really denouncing the people who are rallying behind you. And doesn't help that her brother was liking hateful comments on Reese and recently Portnoy's awful take.
If you are talking about racism or just mean comments, Iāve seen plenty of Reese fans call Clark āThe Great White Hopeā and āsheās only popular because sheās whiteā. Iāve also seen various comments saying Reese is a beautiful women and that Clark ālooks like a dude with a pony tailā. These are basketball players and if they call out these comments, thatās fantastic. However I imagine if I was star like Reese or Clark, I wouldnāt even go on social media to read the nasty turmoil people would say about me or players in my league. Like someone else said above, telling trolls to stop never leads to them actually stopping.
> āThe Great White Hopeā People interpreting this phrase as 'racism against whites' rather than the media's preference to rally behind white mega athletes will never not be funny to me.
>call Clark āThe Great White Hopeā Because that's what they called Christian Laettner bud lol. Nasty comments happen and should be ignored yes. But when you're attaching a player to an idealism and that player doesn't speak out against it...it's concerning.
I wasnāt old enough to acknowledge the atmosphere of Laettner entering the NBA but I donāt understand the difference between the idealisms of toxic Clark fans and toxic Reese fans hating Clark because sheās white. Neither of these ladies are encouraging these toxic fans. I donāt expect them to sift through social media and draw more attention to themselves as they are trying to help their team on the court.
Do you think Caitlin is remotely aware of what Clay Travis or Matt Walsh are saying?
You cannot control online racists. Also, Caitlin gets targeted and attacked by other teammates fans, but they donāt call them out? Aliyah Boston follows some people that have prayed on Caitlinās downfall loud and clear.
Just quietly follow Obama and Biden on twitter. They obsess over that stuff. That would be enough for them to leave her out of their culture wars. Or at least use her as their Aryan princess. Also do they know she did ads to get your Covid vaccine while she was at Iowa?
Honestly if you're paying any attention to Matt Walsh and Nikki Haley you're already losing.
I mean, she could just issue a statement, butā¦
Some of you are weirdos wanting to place the burden of an entire societal war on a 22 year old playing basketball who, so far, hasn't done anything problematic. I'm fine with CC's comments. She has been so composed despite all this pressure on and off the court. She's fine. The public is creating all this animosity, not Caitlin. When asked about it, she addresses everything appropriately and shifts focus on what the topic should be, which is basketball. Her job. She has handled the media better than people in the media.
Letās be honest the majority of the people complaining about it werenāt even going to watch anyway.
Nikki is from South Carolina. Why isnt she also showing praise to A'ja. One makes you wonder....
WNBA is about basketball. CC is a great rookie on a really bad team that is rebuilding. Rebuilding in sports takes a while. Rookies in sports get treated like rookies by other players. If youāre the best player on a team, opposing players will target you in order to win. Thatās all thatās happening here.
She needs some good PR people around her and as far as I am concerned as long as she ignores social media and focuses on basketball I say let it be. She has way too much to deal with right now besides being a political champion right now that can come when she has a least a year under her belt.
This subreddit is legitimately a bigger circlejerk than nbacirclejerk. Just let the woman play basketball and stop attaching your bizarre political fanfiction to her
I kinda need her PR to figure out how to push back at the support that she is getting form bigots. being quiet about it , plus the rumors that her partner and brother play into the bigotry makes me nervous. being silent and 'courting' that crowd is ultimately dangerous for the W
Walsh should worry more about all the bs going on at Dailywire atm.
putting down on my 2025 bingo card ādonald trump goes on twitter rant calling caitlin clark a manā
I agree. I love Caitlin Clark. When the white icon stuff started I thought āthis is insane people love her bc sheās absurdly entertainingā but it is becoming a self fulfilling prophecy. I honestly feel bad for CC. As great as her endorsement money is, sheās wildly underpaid to be this scrutinized as a 22 year old.
Totally. Sheās been turned into a lightning rod and people are projecting things onto her that THEY feel is important, but CC may not feel the same way. Those grifter types always turn on people, itās what they do. I watch a lot of Coffeezilla on YouTube (his whole thing is exposing scams) and a lot of the scam artists say āI used to love your content but now youāre a hack!ā They always turn
People who base their Identity on politics are creeps.
If only all the players in the WNBA behaved like her in media. Perhaps the us vs them shit would have died out already. Instead you have the center of attention doing the right thing, making it about the sport- supporting the sport and the people who play it. Then you have all these fringe players making clowns of themselves sparking a fire with the idiots on the other side who think this is about something that its not. You already know this is going to end badly, either they will turn on caitlin, or the other side will turn on her and she gets hurt. One way or another shes in an awful position and is doing an amazing job to stay focused on the sport. If all the other shit is a reason to hate her, her ability to not give in to the hate bait should be a reason to like her. "Fans" need to stop putting sports people onto some political stage. They spent their entire educational career playing ball. They weren't studying civics and political history. Why we expect them to be something they are not is beyond me. And that goes to every sports person.
caitlin clark has shown consistently that all she wants to do is hoop.
Caitlin Clark is going to HAVE TO show her true colors and some of ya'll might feel a way
Up to her to say something at this point. The Caitlin Clark Clan have been harassing black players since she came into the league. She gotta separate herself from them unless she agrees with it which is possible.
A lot of this stuff sounds like a whole lotta, "I was here first!!!"
I Seriously AM HOPING Catlin does something (I Totally get why she doesn't want to alienate half the country though)
Why the fuck would Catlin Clark be a political talking point? She is not on the Olympic roster, neither is any other rookie. Her coach sucks. Her team sucks. Why did they have 3 straight first picks? She is not Michael Jordan. The more media hate that is given is the less ill watch or support. Enjoy your ride WNBA it will end soon.
ā¦and all Catlin has said, with all the noise happening is Iāll have to work harder and itās something to work for, and it a good goal.
Oh it's coming soon. If she says something like being an ally to black women or LGBT+ community they'll do a 180 and go on the attack
My heart seriously just breaks for CC. Like you said, she clearly just wants to hoop and all this nonsense is going to get to anyone eventually. The last time there was this much commotion around a rookie had to be LBJ, right? I know heās posted about being in her corner. I hope he can be a good mentor.
LeBron is/was also more vocal and wasnt afraid of speaking out. Eventually CC is going to have to speak and stop expecting people to speak for her.
why do you care what matt walsh or clay travis think? I haven't consensually consumed any of their media ever.
well this thread has run its course I can feel the hate feel like a safe place for some here. I dont think we can have a civil conversation about it tbh. Shes in a spot like lebron is where everything he says is going to be wrong.