Caitlin Clark didn’t hold back on the media for using her for clicks on Friday while addressing the Jun. 24 Flagrant 2 foul incident with Alyssa Thomas. Clark reminded everyone she’s only 24 and things can get frustrating for her. The Indiana Fever star went on to say she isn’t a “robot” and has “emotions,” too.
“It can be really frustrating to me at times, and I think IT’s difficult; a lot of people sometimes think I am a robot. I am not a robot,” Clark said. “I have emotions, I have feelings, and it would be very difficult to go through a lot of that, and I am 24 years old, trying to navigate a lot of that.”
Clark cited an article’s headline that discussed the psychological aspect of her and the Fever, which had nothing to do with their on-court play.
“It was like, the headline read like, ‘This season has been everything but fun and just full of frustration for Clark and the Fever.’ And I’m like, no one ever asked me that. Like, that’s wrong,” she said.
Hours after her comments, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith released the latest episode of his podcast with colleague Chiney Ogwumike to discuss various topics related to Caitlin Clark. The duo spoke about the Clark “controversy,” “challenge” of covering her and “resentment” toward the Fever star.
All topics stemmed from the incident with Alyssa Thomas on Jun. 24, when the Mercury star pressed down on Clark’s neck. The referees didn’t review it in real time, but the league upgraded it to a Flagrant 2 and a one-game suspension for Thomas.
Smith released a segment of the podcast on Monday on his X, suggesting they had pre-recorded the sitdown. But because of Clark’s comments on Friday, fans called out Smith and Ogwumike for the timing of the full episode’s release.
One fan said:
“Didn’t Caitlin just say today……LET IT GO”
More reactions followed:
Chiney Ogwumike made one of the most controversial comments on the Caitlin Clark-Alyssa Thomas incident
It’s not the first time Chiney Ogwumike has been under fire over the Caitlin Clark-Alyssa Thomas incident. In fact, the ESPN analyst had the most controversial opinions related to it. On Sunday, Ogwumike claimed Clark “embellishes” contact and that there were “narratives” created from a “freeze-frame,” downplaying what happened between Thomas and the Fever star.
“When narratives are created based off of a freeze-frame, that can create a huge problem. The league was reacting to the optics of that image.”
The segment had over three million views on ESPNW’s X profile and over 2.3k comments, mostly of which called Ogwumike out for not having a neutral opinion on a flagrant foul.
On Friday, even Caitlin Clark confirmed it was a Flagrant 2 foul and should have been reviewed in real time.
Read more:
- Caitlin Clark Finally Addresses Alyssa Thomas Foul, Condemns Online Harassment
- “I Honestly Felt Bad for Them”: Caitlin Clark Speaks Up for Rival WNBA Players Pushed Aside by Media Amid Alyssa Thomas Controversy
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