When it comes to controversy, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has unfortunately been a lightning rod. And really, through no fault of her own. She is arguably the most famous woman in professional sports right now, which unfortunately means she sometimes gets unsavory, negative attention and a spotlight that some feel crosses a line into racism when talking about players in her orbit.
This sort of dynamic from some fans has had a mixed impact on her Fever teammates. It's something her backcourt mate and four-time WNBA All-Star Kelsey Mitchell recently addressed, noting that other Fever players get a lot of "flak" for simply sharing a team with Clark. Mitchell is currently set to be a free agent this offseason. Meanwhile, Fever general manager
Amber Cox vehemently denied this problem's scope.
At a press conference on Thursday, Clark took Mitchell's side and went so far as to condemn any hate or vitriol her fans spread in her name.
#Fever star Caitlin Clark in response to Kelsey Mitchell’s comments:
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 8, 2026
“It makes you upset because you care about your teammates so much …”
“As far as people that have used me to demonstrate racist rhetoric or hate or discrimination, that’s not something I stand for. …” pic.twitter.com/rL00Qo8KwU
Here are Clark's comments on the matter in full:
Obviously I saw Kelsey’s [Mitchell] comments, and I think as her [Fever] 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. I think 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, whether that was my time at Iowa, whether that’s been here. And it comes with a lot of really great things. And then at times there can be some negatives,” Clark explained.
“I think as far as people that have used me to demonstrate racist rhetoric or hate or discrimination, that’s not something I stand for. That’s never been something I’ve stood for. For those of you that know me, that’s not what I’m about. It’s not how I was raised. So that’s really disappointing when people do that.”
Kudos to Clark for actually taking a stand on the matter. Because she's right: This is just sports. Anyone who does veer into hate with her as a central figure, or a proxy, is taking things way too far.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Caitlin Clark condemned any hate spread by her fans following beloved teammate's comments
