Caitlin Clark was a polarizing figure even before she made her WNBA debut. Over the last few years, she has been credited and blamed for a lot of things that happen in women’s basketball. However, being accused of endangering Black and queer WNBA players wasn’t on that list until yesterday.
USA Today’s Nancy Armour published an “Opinion” piece on July 23rd, claiming that Caitlin Clark flopping on the court is becoming dangerous. The columnist has been criticized since then, and Heavy Sports’ Crissy Froyd recently added her take on it.
“This is horrendous. I can’t believe they allowed this to even be said by Nancy Armour, let alone PUBLISHED. And, Lark-Marie Anton made clear to FOS that USA TODAY stands beside her because her piece was clearly labeled ‘Opinion.’ Seems there’s a double standard…” she wrote on X.
Lark-Marie Anton, chief communications and brand officer for USA Today Co., told FOS that Armour’s column is “clearly labeled Opinion.” Anton also said that the column has been “updated for clarity” and that they “will not be commenting further.”
In her piece, Armour talked about how Caitlin Clark’s fandom seems to include white nationalists, and it becomes problematic when you consider that “the WNBA is made up predominantly of Black women, many of them queer.”
Trying to tie it all up with Clark’s alleged flopping habits, which was the core of the opinion piece, Armour wrote:
“When Clark claims fouls that don’t exist, when she goes on profanity-laced tirades at referees, those racists see her as a white woman in need of saving and take matters into their own hands.”
She also shed light on how the country “has an awful history of Black people being harmed, even killed, in the name of ‘defending’ white women.” Armour found it ironic that the WNBA All-Star is being held in Chicago, the hometown of Emmett Till.
In her opinion, the WNBA has a long way to go as far as protecting its players is concerned. In the meantime, she believes that “there also should be an expectation on Clark to recognize the broader implications of her actions being weaponized.” Caitlin Clark arguing for foul calls has apparently become a matter of civil rights and endangering social harmony.
Throughout her article, Armour maintained, “I am not a Clark hater.” Fans and notable members of the sports media, including Froyd, Sam Vecenie, Dan Zaksheske, Dave Portnoy, and others, have questioned how the editor allowed the piece to be published. After sharing her opinion piece on Caitlin Clark and her flopping habits, Nancy Armour has locked her X account.
Nancy Armour Addressed the Backlash Over Her Caitlin Clark Opinion Piece
There were several points in the article that became topics of discussion among fans on social media. Arguably the biggest among them was Armour’s choice of including the racially motivated murder of the 14-year-old in 1955.
Amid the backlash, Armour addressed her piece on Threads.
“In my recent column, I made an inartful comparison with the murder of Emmett Till. I intended to connect the issues the WNBA is currently facing with its All-Star Game being hosted in Till’s hometown of Chicago. I obviously did not provide enough context for that,” she wrote.
She stated that she regrets the lack of appropriate context and how her mistake has overshadowed the important point she tried to raise in her article.
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