Tragic Details About Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark became a controversial figure in the WNBA almost immediately, and it had more to do with the off-the-court narrative than her on-court play. Even before the star point guard suited up for the Iowa Fever, she had become a media sensation thanks to her college career, which made her the number one overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Several WNBA players believed Clark being white played a factor in her popularity. "I think it's a huge thing. I think a lot of people may say it's not about Black and white, but to me, it is," Las Vegas Aces player A'ja Wilson told reporters on May 12, per the Associated Press.

There had also been fans who used Clark's image as a way to promote racially-insensitive, sexist, and homophobic dialogue. "People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It's disappointing. It's not acceptable," Clark said about those narratives while speaking to ESPN on June 14.

Unfortunately, those negative comments were taking place back when the guard was still in college. In fact, the rumored beef between Clark and Angel Reese sparked discussions of race in April 2023. Reese famously received backlash for doing Clark's "You Can't See Me" hand gesture when the pair met in that year's championship game. Several online viewers pointed out that it was a double-standard to call out Reese, and not Clark for doing the gesture. That game wound up being one of the most heart-wrenching of Clark's career.

Caitlin Clark was reduced to tears when her University of Iowa Hawkeyes lost to Angel Reese and the Louisiana State University Tigers in the 2023 Women's NCAA Basketball championship game on April 2, 2023. The Hawkeyes star did not hide her emotions while speaking at the post-game presser. "I don't think it's gonna set in for me for quite some time," she said. "I want my legacy to be the impact I can have on young kids ... I hope I brought them a lot of joy this season," Clark added while wiping away tears streaming down her face. Even though the tough loss was a low point in her college career, Clark said she was proud of what the team had accomplished.

A couple days later, Clark was more composed but still reeling from the championship game loss. "It's honestly probably pretty hard for me to wrap my head around ... I'm just kind of sad it's over," she said while appearing on ESPN's "SportsCenter" on April 4, 2023.

After attending the well-publicized title game, first lady Jill Biden suggested that both teams should be invited to the White House (traditionally, only the winner was invited). Inviting the second place Hawkeyes became a point of contention, Clark had no interest in taking up the offer from FLOTUS. "I think LSU should enjoy that moment for them," she said on "SportsCenter." Those setbacks were only a precursor to the obstacles Clark would face in the WNBA.

Almost immediately after joining the WNBA, Caitlin Clark experienced the brutal physicality of playing in the pros. One of the most glaring experiences of the rookie enduring rough plays from competitors came on June 1 when Clark was body checked by Chennedy Carter of the Chicago Sky. The play unfolded as the point guard was waiting for the ball to be inbounded. Even though many fans believed Carter had specifically targeted Clark, the Indiana Fever star said it was all part of the game. "Heat of the moment play. We're getting at it. We're getting back and forth. It's basketball," Clark told reporters, per the Associated Press. Meanwhile, Carter denied that her hit on Clark was a cheap shot. "So I'm just saying, don't form an opinion off of one little clip," Carter said about people claiming the play was dirty.

Chennedy Carter drills a jumper then lays a body check on Caitlin Clark that should get her a look from the Blackhawks!

pic.twitter.com/UlX2l6ZZDd

— CHGO Sports (@CHGO_Sports) June 1, 2024

That hit on Clark went viral, and sparked outrage from many WNBA fans. Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler, who once co-owned the Atlanta Dream, believed the league was not protecting the first year pro. "Instead of being welcomed, she's physically and verbally attacked," Loeffler tweeted on June 4, only days after the incident with Carter. "They want the attention — but they don't want it for a player like Caitlin Clark," she added.

Not only did Clark have to learn to cope with the physical on-court play, but she also experienced a cringeworthy exchange with a reporter before ever playing a WNBA game.

When Caitlin Clark was being officially introduced as a member of the Indiana Fever with a press conference on April 17, a local reporter made the situation very uncomfortable. Gregg Doyel of the IndyStar flashed a heart sign with his hands before asking Clark questions — she was known to make the gesture in college as a sign for her family. Clark asked if the reporter liked when she made that hand sign. That is when the exchange became awkward. "I like that you're here," Doyel said to Clark. "Okay, well start doing that to me and we'll get along just fine," he added.

Doyel faced a cavalcade of backlash online, prompting him to write an article about the incident that same day. "Caitlin Clark, I'm so sorry. Today I was part of the problem," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, while posting the article. "I screwed up Wednesday during my first interaction with No. 1 overall draft pick Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever," Doyel wrote in the IndyStar piece. Plenty of fans did not believe the reporter's apology was sufficient. "Not part you were the only problem," an X user replied.

Eventually, the reporter was hit with a suspension for his cringe worthy comments about Clark. Bob Kravitz reported on May 7 that Doyel had been suspended from the Indy Star. The Washington Post reported that when Doyel returned he would not be attending any Fever games. The off-the-court issues piled up for Clark in a difficult first season in the WNBA.

The transition from an NCAA star into the pros was rockier than Caitlin Clark may have expected. Part of that was juggling all of her off-the-court responsibilities. "Honestly, I feel like I talk to the media more than I get to talk to my own family ... which is really kind of sad, in a way," she told the press on May 24, per the New York Post. The Indiana Fever point guard loved the game, but the travel and constantly dealing with the press took a toll. "I think the biggest thing is mental health is very important," she added, while speaking about Mental Health Awareness Month.

The adjustment period for the University of Iowa alum was tough on the rookie. "Like, I'm only 22 years old," she said during a press conference on June 15, per USA Today's Christine Brennan. "I'm trying to navigate moving to a new city by myself. I'm trying to navigate playing in a new league on top of everything else that has come with it," Clark added.

To avoid being distracted by the noise outside the game, Clark said during the May 24 presser that she stayed off social media. All the chatter surrounding her treatment from other WNBA players may have made its way through the cracks to Clark, as she took her social media avoidance one step further and deleted her VSCO account around June 23, as reported by Athlon Sports. That decision may have been influenced by the Olympic roster being announced.

When the Team USA list for the women's national team was announced, Caitlin Clark's name was a glaring omission from the 2024 Olympics roster. Even though she was only a rookie in the WNBA, fans believed her college accolades — and name recognition — should have earned her a spot. "I know it's the most competitive team in the world and I know it could've gone either way of me being on the team, me not being on the team," Clark said on June 9, per NBC News. "Hopefully one day I can be there."

Clark took a diplomatic approach to not being able to represent her country, but others came to her defense with less nuanced takes. "Rant incoming. — leaving Caitlin Clark off the women's Olympic team is the dumbest s*** I've ever heard," Barstool's Dave Portnoy wrote on X on June 8. Controversial sports columnist Jason Whitlock had a blisteringly hot take of his own. "Caitlin Clark's Olympic Dream Killed as WNBA Chooses Bigotry over Business," Whitlock titled a YouTube video posted June 10.

It was not only fans and incendiary media members who took issue with Clark being left off the Olympic squad. "I think it's a missed opportunity because she's clearly a generational talent at a time when the world was ready for it," Casey Wasserman, president of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, told USA Today on June 22. As you can see, through no fault of her own, Clark's early career was shrouded in controversy.