Getty Caitlin Clark
Antonio Brown, the controversial former NFL star, dropped a single-word response to Caitlin Clark‘s debut in the WNBA.
“Respect,” Brown wrote on X on May 3 after the game, sharing a video showing Clark with a fan. Brown added, “Got a @IndianaFever fan here #CTESPN.”
Brown had previously disparaged Clark in a series of posts on his X page, but her Indiana Fever performance appears to have turned him around.
According to ESPN, Clark impressed the crowd with her performance in her first preseason Fever game. She scored 21 points against the Dallas Wings, although the Fever ended up losing the game 79-76.
“You couldn’t ask for a better game, really, for women’s basketball to kick off this [WNBA] year,” Clark said, according to ESPN. “A tremendous game coming down to the wire, both teams competing. That’s going to be the story of the entire year.”
“There’s a lot of good to take away from it. At the same time, it’s preseason game, so don’t get too disappointed by it,” she said, according to the outlet. “Just go back and watch the film, learn from it and get ready for our next one.”
Antonio Brown Says He Got Courtside Seats to Watch Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Debut
Respect @CaitlinClark22 🤝
Got a @IndianaFever fan here #CTESPN
Brown has posted about Clark before. On May 3 on X he shared a quote: “WNBA shouldn’t let Antonio Brown in to watch Caitlin Clark play.”
He wrote before the game, “Courtside Tix secured for Caitlin Clark’s debut tonight in the WNBA.”
Some fans expressed concern about Brown attending the game. “I’m more concerned about Antonio Brown being allowed to sit courtside at tonight’s game after harassing Caitlin Clark to the point she blocked him on Twitter,” wrote one man on X.
Courtside Tix secured for Caitlin Clark’s debut tonight in the WNBA
He also posted a question as to whether he would “make it to the seats.”
Meanwhile, WNBA stars Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso got shout-outs after their first WNBA game from basketball star Dwyane Wade, who wrote on X, “Just the beginning! 😎” He shared a video of them playing.
Antonio Brown Has a History of Verbally Attacking Caitlin Clark on His X Page
Will I make it to the seats? 🌳#CTESPN
Clark blocked him on X in mid-April when he made what Indy100 labeled “misogynistic attacks” against her. Tom Brady and President Joe Biden have also blocked Brown on X, according to Indy100.
On April 17, Brown wrote on X, “Caitlin Clark looks like she keep it hairy.” The following day, after she blocked him on the platform, Brown wrote, “Blocked by Cousin It.” These were just the latest in a number of disparaging posts about Clark visible in Brown’s X feed.
Named in 2019 by Pro Football Talk as one of the “Top 10 receivers of the decade,” Brown has been a controversial figure, with multiple allegations between 2018 and 2023 of sexual assault and misconduct, domestic violence, and failure to pay child support. In August 2023, Brown lashed out at media after news of an arrest warrant against him was reported, according to ClutchPoints. Sports Illustrated noted at the time that he seemed to blame the progressive degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, writing, “my CTE acting up.”