Caitlin Clark on Oct. 8 addressed recent comments by her Indiana Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell about how hard it can be to play alongside her.
"As her teammate, it makes you upset because you care about your teammates so much, and you don't want any of them to go through something like that," Clark said in her end-of-season exit interview. "For the people that have followed me, obviously, there is such a microscope on me, and that kind of comes with everybody else that I've been teammates with. ... (it) comes with a lot of really great things, and then, at times, there can be some negatives.
"As far as people that have used me to demonstrate racist rhetoric, or hate, or discrimination, that's not something I stand for. It's never been something I've
stood for. For those of you that know me, they (know) that's not what I'm about. It's not how I was raised, so that's really disappointing when people do that. ... Anytime I see something like that (it) makes me upset, makes me sad, makes me really disappointed because that's not who I am."
On Oct. 3, during Mitchell's exit interview, the free-agent guard addressed the popularity that comes with being a star player for the Indiana Fever, but also the vitriol she faces as Clark's teammate.
"If I show y’all my (direct messages) about the hate and all the stuff that comes with being a professional athlete, but specifically being an Indiana Fever basketball player, it's a lot that goes into that," Mitchell said.
"Showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard. I don't think people understand that. I think having to show up for people that don't look at you and have the eyes, like, the star eyes, when they see me, but playing with (Caitlin Clark) and having the eyes that she got, we get a lot of flak just for being on her team, so I think that just comes with a lot, too. And I just think that people got to give us grace."
Mitchell is a free agent heading into 2027, and re-signing her will be a top priority for the Fever. However, the Fever guard's comments about the hate she faces for being on the roster turned heads.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark denounces hate, racism cited by Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell
