Sports commentator Dan Dakich reacted to OutKick writer Bobby Burack’s opinion on the treatment of Caitlin Clark in the WNBA. Dakich hailed the way Clark deals with sensitive social matters and contrasted the Fever star with Paige Bueckers, whom he labeled a “child.”
On Tuesday’s episode of his “Don’t @ Me” podcast, Dakich accused Bueckers of being too outspoken with her social views while praising Clark for not following suit.
“Paige Bueckers is typical. Paige Bueckers is no different than all the little White girls that came before her, standing up for the African-Americans that are downtrodden in their view. Caitlin Clark doesn’t play those games…You can look at Paige Bueckers and see a child…Caitlin Clark is always the adult in the room.” [Timestamp – 8:11]
Dakich proceeded to read aloud excerpts from “Here Is the Real Reason Why They Hate Caitlin Clark So Much,” an opinion piece by OutKick’s Bobby Burack.
“Caitlin Clark chose a different path. She’s a basketball player. That’s all she ever claimed to be. She never volunteered to become a symbol in America’s culture war. She never volunteered to spend press conferences validating racial activists and apologizing for her own success.” [Timestamp – 9:54]
Like Burack, Dakich accused WNBA players of treating Clark harshly on the court while having a more positive disposition towards Bueckers.
Dakich’s reaction comes on the heels of remarks Bueckers made after the Dallas Wings’ 96-91 win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday. In the post-game media session, Bueckers took a stand for “equal opportunity,” calling for more Black women to be hired as head coaches in the WNBA.
At present, none of the head coaching positions in the league is occupied by a Black woman. The last Black female head coach in the WNBA was Noelle Quinn, who led the Seattle Storm for five seasons. Quinn’s coaching stint with the Storm ended after the 2025 playoffs.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Pushes Back Against Congressional Letter’s Claim That Caitlin Clark is “Face of the League”
Caitlin Clark was once again spotlighted in the political discourse when 11 members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert last week. In the letter, the Republicans called for Engelbert to address “repeated acts of physical violence” against Clark, whom they called the “face” of the WNBA.
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took exception to the claim about Clark being the league’s most prominent player. On his Substack, the six-time NBA champion argued that such praise is unfair to other elite players in the league today.
“Don’t get me wrong: Clark is a very good, possibly even a great, player. But calling any one player the face of the league, absent the sort of on-court and cross-platform dominance of a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James, is an insult to an awful lot of great players.”
Abdul-Jabbar went on to cite A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Napheesa Collier as players who are worthy of recognition as well.
READ MORE:
Texas Congressman Demands Answers From Cathy Engelbert After Failure To ‘Protect Caitlin Clark’
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