The 22-year-old’s sensational rookie season in the professional league came to an end last week when the Indiana Fever crashed out of the playoffs in a second straight loss to the Connecticut Sun.
After taking a week to recover from the defeat, Clark took to social media to thank her supporters.
‘Year one,’ she posted alongside a green tick emoji. ‘Thank you to the many people who have supported me as I’ve been able to live my childhood dream. I’m filled with gratitude as I reflect on this past year of my life.’
‘See you all in year two,’ she signed off.
Caitlin Clark shared an emotional message to her fans Wednesday night after her debut season
Clark’s sensational rookie season in the professional league came to an end last week
Clark’s message came just hours after the WNBA’s latest race row hit headlines.
The Fever’s playoffs exit was overshadowed by yet another controversy after Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington accidentally poked Clark in the eye during the best-of-three series.
USA Today columnist Christine Brennan asked Carrington following the incident when the poke was intentional, which the player denied. Likewise, Carrington also denied laughing about the incident after cameras caught her giggling with teammates later in their Game 1 victory.
The query sparked a war between Brennan and the WNBA players’ union, who called for the journalist to be fired.
While Carrington answered Brennan’s questions without complaint, the WNBA players’ union responded with a scathing statement directed at the famed columnist.
‘To unprofessional members of the media like Christine Brennan: You are not fooling anyone,’ read the WNBPA statement.
‘That so-called interview in the name of journalism was a blatant attempt to bait a professional athlete into participating into a narrative that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic, and misogynistic vitriol on social media. You cannot hide behind your tenure.
‘You have abused your privileges and do not deserve the credentials issued to you.’
The Fever rookie took to social media to thank her supporters for her ‘childhood dream’
Clark (right) is seen being defended by DiJonai Carrington in their first-round series
Brennan, a 66-year-old sportswriting pioneer, has been defended by scores of journalists since the controversy began, including some from both sides of the political divide. For instance, liberal Keith Olbermann and conservative Jason Whitlock have both condemned the WNBPA for their statement.
Furthermore, USA Today released a statement saying the newspaper rejects ‘the notion that the interview perpetuated any narrative other than to get the players’ perspective directly.’
However, retired soccer star Megan Rapinoe weighed in on the debate Wednesday when she took aim at the ‘racist’ question.
‘My visceral reaction was like: ”That’s not good. That doesn’t feel good. That feels racist, to be honest,”’ Rapinoe told her partner and retired WNBA legend Sue Bird on their podcast.
Rapinoe believed Brennan was instinctively defending Clark, who happens to be the subject of the columnist’s next book.
‘I think it’s so disingenuous for Christine Brennan and other media members to be like ”I am just asking the question,”’ Rapinoe said.
‘But really what is happening is your natural instinct to protect and narrate white players versus ”go after and narrate black players.” That to me is the issue.
‘The premise of the question relies on the belief that DiJonai is targeting, that DiJonai is specifically swatted or swiped into Caitlin’s eyeball,’ Rapinoe continued.
Sue Bird (far left) and Megan Rapinoe (near left) took aim at Christine Brennan (right)
Although Clark suffered a black eye, she has also dismissed the incident, saying she doesn’t believe Carrington intended to hurt her.
Still, that hasn’t stopped fans and media for calling for a suspension.
Carrington was not suspended, nor was she even whistled for a foul on the play – two things that have fueled some fans’ belief that Clark is the victim of anti-white racism.
The storyline has been a constant theme throughout the 2024 season as the WNBA has broken all sales and television audiences records. Many players and teams have called out racist fan abuse, much of which has centered around the rivalry between rookies Clark, who is white, and Angel Reese, who is black.
Asked about the problem while appearing on CNBC last month, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert likened the Clark-Reese dynamic to the NBA’s famed Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry, which also featured players of different races.
Following the most successful regular season in league history, the ongoing WNBA postseason is at risk of being overshadowed by the controversy.
While many Clark supporters have accused the league of conspiring against its biggest star, a number of players have voiced frustrations about racist fan abuse.
No foul was called despite the contact leaving the 22-year-old in agony on the floor
And it’s not Clark or strictly her fans who are responsible. Clark, for one, has condemned the racist fan abuse of players.
‘It’s definitely upsetting,’ Clark said last month. ‘Nobody in our league should be facing any sort of racism, hurtful, disrespectful, hateful comments and threats. Those aren’t fans. Those are trolls and it’s a real disservice to the people in our league, the organization, the WNBA.’
Bird not only absolved Clark of any responsibility, but stressed that her fans, as a whole, are not to blame.
‘It’s not the Fever fans, it’s not the Caitlin fans,’ Bird told Rapinoe on their podcast. ‘We’re talking about the faction of that group that is pushing racist agendas, and is pushing hate, and creating divisiveness online acting as fans, acting as Fever fans, acting as Caitlin fans.’
