Why Caitlin Clark's Boyfriend Connor Is Catching Heat From Fans

WNBA star Caitlin Clark's main priority may be basketball, but she also has a super important second love in her life. The Indiana Fever star has major heart eyes for Connor McCaffery, a former University of Iowa athlete who's since become employed by the Indiana Pacers. For example, McCaffery kicked off 2024 by highlighting Clark's 22nd birthday on Instagram. "Happy Birthday 22. Wish I was there to celebrate with you — you deserve the best day." McCaffery captioned the slideshow of their best couple moments. "With all that you've already accomplished, there is so much more in store for you and your special self. I admire you in every way and I love you," he continued. 

Before embarking on her WNBA career, Clark also expressed major comfort in knowing that McCaffery's job required him to be stationed in Indiana, where the Fever are located. "It's great, obviously it makes the transition a little bit easier," Clark previously shared with IndyStar. "You've got people that know the city, and obviously Connor being there is tremendous. I couldn't imagine a better place to start my professional career," she added. Fortunately, fans have mostly embraced the athletic couple, often by leaving them supportive comments across social media. Unfortunately, McCaffery recently caught some heat from Clark's fans, but it's not because of what you might think!

Connor McCaffery recently accompanied Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever teammates to participate in a charity pickleball match, according to Bleacher Report. McCaffery, alongside Clark, Erica Wheeler, and Lexie Hull lent their athletic talents to the pickleball sphere for a good cause. However, all social media seemed to care about is McCaffery's lack of on-court coordination. After videos of the match made their way online, Clark's fans didn't seem super interested in seeing her flaunt her range of athletic abilities. Instead, they seemed to delight in dragging her boyfriend's lack of pickleball skills.

Caitlin vs Lexie Hull in pickleball 🤣 pic.twitter.com/lzIFzpBfMZ

— Bri Lewerke (@brilewerke) July 7, 2024

"Connor isn't taking this seriously, Caitlin needs someone out there with more competitive. Caitlin and Temi when her hand is better would be awesome!" tweeted one fan. Connor could have slammed that ball .... he chose not to ..... is there some pickleball rule against slamming the ball???" wrote a second fan. A third fan resorted to name-calling. "Bf is lame there. Common, man," they tweeted. Meanwhile, another user dissed McCaffery's basketball skills, writing, "Can Connor play pickleball because he can't play basketball." Interestingly, another user claimed that McCaffery had an unfair advantage. "Connor's height makes it unfair sides .. nice to see her just having fun!" they wrote.

Tough crowd!

This isn't the first time that social media has clowned Connor McCaffery, who's extremely opinionated and active on social media. If you recall, McCaffery called out WNBA alum Sheryl Swoopes after she cast doubt on Caitlin Clark's college scoring stats (via Bro Bible). "Just imagine doing an interview and being this misinformed," McCaffery tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter, alongside five crying-laughing emojis. "I don't even understand what she's trying to say," he added. However, this particular tweet isn't the reason that McCaffery's name often draws ire on social media.

Apparently, some swaths of sports fans believe that McCaffery's social media presence helps to fuel the flames of Clark's rivalry with her WNBA opponents. "F*** Connor McCaffery I know he's cutting up on twitter by liking so much messy stuff about other players that involve Caitlin Clark. #WNBA," tweeted one fan. Meanwhile, another fan posted a photo of McCaffery's college basketball stats in defense of Angel Reese. "Mind you this the same man who liked tweets sayin angel wasn't that good......IJBOL," they tweeted, garnering over 90,000 views. "He was just jealous cuz she has more talent in her pinky than he has in his whole body," replied one fan.

With this kind of reception, what's a few pickleball jokes?