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Caitlin Clark spoke for the first time since her on-court altercation with Alyssa Thomas, denouncing hateful comments levied against all parties involved in the June 24 incident.
“The harassment, the hate, none of that is okay. That goes for the opposing team we play, that goes for my teammates, that goes for my coaches,” Clark said Friday at the team’s shootaround in a five-minute opening statement before any questions were asked.
Clark reiterated that her stance has been consistent. In June 2024, Clark said it was “disappointing” when asked how she felt about her name being used for “racism” or “misogyny.”
“The women in our league deserve the same amount of respect. People should not be using my name to push those agendas,” Clark said at the time.
The incident in question occurred in the second quarter of the June 24 game between the Mercury and the Fever, when Thomas appeared to push a closed fist into Clark’s throat while the latter was on the ground during a fight for a loose ball. No foul was called during the game, but the WNBA reviewed the play and retroactively handed Thomas a Flagrant 2 and a one-game suspension for a “non-basketball act.”
Clark said Friday she believed the foul was flagrant. She added that the league and officiating need to improve, but also showed empathy for referees.
“We really need to do a better job protecting people in this league,” Clark said. “I think overall, the league just needs to get better. The technology has to get better. We can treat the referees a little bit better.”
The incident has taken over WNBA discourse over the past week. Even several Republican politicians have chimed in, with Tennessee representative Tim Burchett describing the play as “thug treatment” of Clark.
On Tuesday, Thomas told reporters that she has received threats against her life and demanded that the league take action to protect player safety. She also said that she has heard from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Engelbert responded Tuesday afternoon in a statement obtained by Front Office Sports saying she “vehemently condemns all forms of hate.”
Fever coach Stephanie White, who previously coached Thomas on the Connecticut Sun, also denounced hateful comments across the WNBA: “As a league, there’s been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia, straight out nonsense. Hate, nonsense. And it is absolutely unacceptable. Most of this coming from the online community. Most of this, in my heart of hearts, I believe is not coming from WNBA fans, Indiana Fever fans. I believe that this is people who are using our league, using our players to further divisive agendas.”
Clark added Friday that she feels people think she is “a robot” for the way she responds to the WNBA’s issues beyond the game that have swarmed her. But she said that there are times that it “affects me a little bit more than I do put on.”
“I’m not a robot,” Clark said. “I have emotions, I have feelings. And it can be really difficult to go through a lot of that. I’m 24 years old trying to navigate a lot.”
Clark, who was also named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for June on Friday, has been out with a back injury caused by a separate collision during last week’s game against the Phoenix Mercury. Per WNBA rules, players out with injury who are expected to return within the season must be available to the media once they have missed one week of game action.
Clark said she will not return Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces, but should be back during the team’s back-to-back next week.
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