Caitlin Clark just wants to play basketball.
The Indiana Fever rookie and former Iowa phenom is firmly entrenched at the center of the sports world. Her popularity is such that her name is transcending the game and is being cited in heated cultural conversations about gender and race relations.
By and large, Clark hasn’t chimed in much, even as she’s faced tough questions about the debates raging around her.
Clark spoke out Thursday, however, responding to questions from The Athletic’s Jim Trotter about what he described as the weaponization of her name in such discussions.
MORE: Why Caitlin Clark isn’t on 2024 U.S. Olympic team
“It’s not something I can control, so I don’t put too much thought and time into it,” she said. “To be honest, I don’t see a lot of it.”
#IndianaFever’s Caitlin Clark on her name being weaponized in non-sports topics:
“It’s not something I can control. … And to be honest, I don’t see a lot of it.”
“People can talk about what they want to talk about. … I’m just here to play basketball.”
Qs by @JimTrotter_NFL pic.twitter.com/VhGC7cIgLf
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) June 13, 2024
The 22-year-old Fever guard reiterated that she’s focused solely on her game and will leave the rest up to others.
“People can talk about what they want to talk about, create conversations about whatever it is … I’m just here to play basketball,” she said.
Asked specifically whether the inclusion of her name in cultural debates bothers her, Clark responded: “No. I don’t see it. That’s not where my focus is.”
Indiana is set to host the Atlanta Dream on Thursday before hosting the Chicago Sky on Sunday. Clark already was a lightning rod for hot takes, but her name became a flashpoint in particular after the Fever’s first game of the season against the Sky on June 1, during which Clark took a hard foul from Sky guard Chennedy Carter.
The furor swelled after Clark was left off the 2024 U.S. Olympic roster. And Clark is facing criticism on the court as well — during the Fever’s loss to the Sun on Monday, Connecticut guard DiJonai Carrington trolled Clark, insinuating that the rookie had embellished on a play to garner a foul call.
On Thursday, Carrington seemed to take issue with Clark’s head-down response to the larger cultural debates swirling around her.
“How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia and the intersectionalities of them all is nuts,” Carrington wrote in a social media post, which concluded: “Silence is a luxury.”
Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts. We all see the sh*t. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.
— dιjonaι carrιngтon♛ (@DijonaiVictoria) June 13, 2024
Clark cleared up her comments later Thursday, saying that she thinks it’s “disappointing” that her name is being used in support of racist and misogynistic arguments.
Caitlin Clark on when people use her name for racism, misogyny, etc: “Yeah, I think it’s disappointing… people should not be using my name to push those agendas.”
Full clip: pic.twitter.com/VbWzN5CQT4
— Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) June 13, 2024
“Yeah, I think it’s disappointing,” Clark said. “Everybody in our world deserves the same amount of respect. The women in our league deserve the same amount of respect.
“People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable.”
