Caitlin Clark On Staying Focused On Basketball As Women’s Sports Debate Continues
She handles tough questions quite well.
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark made it clear this week that she speaks up only when she feels like it.
The conversation started after her teammate, Sophie Cunningham, shared her thoughts on transgender athletes in women’s sports during an interview with ESPN. She said, “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
After the Fever lost to the Minnesota Lynx last Sunday, reporters asked Clark for her opinion on the issue. Clark declined to take a side and instead pointed to the league and governing bodies.
“It’s not really a discussion we have in our locker room,” Clark said. “It’s for leagues and governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions, but my focus is on basketball.”
The topic followed Clark again on Thursday night when reporters asked why she does not often weigh in on political matters. The WNBA star responded with a simple explanation of how she handles those situations.
Clark Says She Speaks When She Wants To
Caitlin Clark (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Clark told reporters she prefers to speak her mind only when she feels like it, rather than just saying what people expect her to.
“I think first and foremost, like you know, you speak when you feel like you want to speak,” Clark said. “I try to just show up and be myself every single day.”
Her comments immediately ignited a debate.
Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly called Clark a “coward” for refusing to take a firm stance on transgender athletes in women’s sports. However, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy backed her, arguing that Clark doesn’t owe anyone a political opinion.
“Absolute moron/idiot to call Caitlin a coward for this answer,” Portnoy wrote. He also added, “1st of all you don’t even know how she feels on this issue and more importantly she doesn’t owe it to you or anybody else to be your political talking point. She just wants to play ball. Total coward cheap shot to call her a coward for not being your puppet.”
This situation shows just how unique Clark’s spot in the WNBA really is. As the league’s biggest draw, she constantly gets pulled into massive debates that have nothing to do with basketball.
Even so, Clark remains quite focused on her job with the Fever.
