It has been quite the season for Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, as she finds herself in the news more often than she wants.
Clark has put up some great performances on the court over the last two weeks. She had a game where she scored a career-high 45 points.
Even with the Fever riding a four-game winning streak, there are more conversations around what is happening on and off the court. People are looking at Clark to respond to recent actions deemed controversial.
Sports Commentator Calls for Caitlin Clark to Speak Out
GettyINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – SEPTEMBER 13: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever wears a “vote” t-shirt during warmups before a game against the Las Vegas Aces at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on September 13, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Former ESPN anchor Elle Duncan joined “The Sports Gossip Show” to discuss Clark’s situation. Over the last month, Clark has been criticized for not speaking out on subjects like WNBA players getting death threats and political leaders writing a letter to the league, urging them to hold players accountable for hard fouls on Clark.
Duncan called on Clark to speak out on the subject matter despite her just trying to focus on basketball.
“Love for it to be very clear to the people who think they are her fans but are using her, if she would say, stop that [expletive], I don’t want it, I’m tired of it. As opposed to what we’ve seen, which is the media makes up these narratives, the media makes up this discourse. That’s not true. The media highlights the stories and they show it, but at the same time, like, the media did not make up that members of Congress are trying to get literal government intervention into whether you get fouled too hard. Like, yeah, right, stuff has stop. It’s not going anywhere. So unfortunately, we’re now trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube, and I don’t think there’s an easy solution to it. I really don’t. And I don’t have all the answers. I certainly don’t. I just know that whatever’s happening right now is not working. And I would love for Caitlin’s team to go back to the drawing board and say, again, as much as we would love to live in a world where you get to just play basketball and be a great person and a great leader, and she’s all of those things. As much as we would love for you to be able to just focus on that, just like the players against her would love to be able to not wonder if they hard foul her whether they’re going to be called names or have death threats against them. We would love that to be your reality. It’s unfortunately not your reality right now.”
Clark has been open about the media’s coverage of her over the last few months. During the All-Star break, she mentioned that the media narratives were “emotionally exhausting” and “draining” for her to deal with.
Duncan isn’t the only one who has asked for Clark to speak out. ESPN WNBA analyst Monica McNutt also recently stated that she wished Clark would be more accountable and self-aware of what she was saying.
Caitlin Clark Trying to Keep the Focus on The Court
GettyMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 24: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever dribbles the ball in the first quarter of the game against the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center on August 24, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
As Clark deals with distractions off the court, the Fever have some big fish to fry on the court. They are currently 18-10 and sitting in the fifth spot of the WNBA standings.
Indiana still has two games left on their three-game road trip. The Fever first have to face the Portland Fire on Friday and then the top WNBA team, the Minnesota Lynx, on Sunday.
After being selected to her third All-Star game, Clark is pacing to have a great season and hopes to keep it going. Her focus right now is to get the Fever back in the playoffs and win a WNBA title.
Caitlin Clark Gets Challenged to Speak Out on Evolving Storylines