WNBA star Caitlin Clark broke the record for assists in her rookie season. And even in the offseason, she can’t help but feed the trolls.
Clark shot back at conservative commentator Megyn Kelly while accepting a Time magazine award for “Athlete of the Year” on Wednesday.
“I think my best skill is just blocking out the noise, and hopefully it continues to be, because with the way things are going and where the WNBA is going, you want that attention, and you embrace it, and that’s what makes this so fun,” Clark told broadcaster Maria Taylor, per Time.
Clark attracted right-wing scorn when she opened up on Monday about her sense of privilege, celebrating the Black athletes who came before her in a Time interview about the honor.
“I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” Clark said, adding that the “league has kind of been built on” Black players. Kelly took issue with Clark’s suggestion, claiming Clark was “apologizing for being white” in a post to X.
“She’s on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention,” the former Fox News host said. “Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad.”
It’s not the first time the rookie of the year has had to navigate thorny issues of race and right-wing grievance. The Indiana Fever guard had to condemn far-right trolls earlier this year for using her race to tear down Black WNBA stars. Clark called the hateful narratives “disappointing” back in June after colleagues pushed her to more strongly combat them.
“People should not be using my name to push those agendas,” Clark told ESPN. “Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it’s just a basic human thing that everybody should do.”
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