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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Cory Woodroof

Caitlin Clark condemned her name being used to fuel racist and misogynist culture wars

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark made it very clear on Thursday that she condemns her name being used in any harmful way to fuel toxic discourse.

At no fault of her own, Clark has turned into a major chess piece in the ongoing culture war surrounding her WNBA arrival. It has taken focus away from what’s happening on the court and is unnecessarily dragging Clark and other players into a noxious discourse that occasionally and inexcusably veers into misogyny and racism.

On Tuesday, Clark was asked about her name being brought into those culture wars, and she said that “it’s not something I can control” and that she doesn’t “see a lot of it.” It’s a stance that affirmed that her main focus is basketball and that the rest is just noise.

Well, the answer seemingly caught the eye of Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington, who felt that Clark should’ve spoken out more about the negativity that comes from her name being attached to problematic stances.

When she was asked by The Athletic’s James Boyd about the specific nature of her name being used to push racist and misogynistic views, Clark condemned those actions and called for all the women of the WNBA to be treated equally.

“It’s disappointing,” Clark said. “Everybody in our world deserves the same amount of respect. The women in our league deserve the same amount of respect. So, people should not be using my name to push those agendas.”

Clark’s words will hopefully ring true throughout the wider discourse and show what side she’s on when her name gets dragged into larger conversations about pertinent issues of race and gender.

As WNBA player-turned-ESPN commentator Chiney Ogwumike mentioned this week, the weaponization of league narratives surrounding Clark and other players is taking away from “the beauty of the game.”

One can only hope that the fervor will die down and that Clark and her fellow WNBA athletes will be able to focus on the game they love and not mean-spirited narratives that propagate harmful rhetoric.

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