Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark defended her recent claim that some of her success stems from “privilege,” arguing she was trying to be “authentic” with her answer.
Clark’s comments on experiencing privilege in the WNBA, made in an interview with Time, received some pushback on social media, with journalist Megyn Kelly accusing Clark of “apologizing for being white.” When asked Wednesday evening about Kelly’s remarks, Clark reiterated how she believes she earned “every single thing” in her basketball career while recognizing the need to “uplift” black players in the WNBA.
Look at this. She’s on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention. The self-flagellation. The “oh pls pay attention to the black players who are REALY the ones you want to celebrate.” Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad. https://t.co/cTzk0CTLPn
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) December 10, 2024
“And like I said, I try to just be real and authentic and share my truth, and I think that’s very easy for me,” Clark said. “I’m very comfortable in my own skin, and that’s kind of how it’s been my entire life.”
Clark added that her best skill as an athlete is “blocking out the noise” of those criticizing her, arguing that the only opinions that matter to her are those of her teammates and coaches. She also said she hopes she will continue to be able to ignore comments from others, citing the rising popularity of the WNBA.
The Indiana Fever player was listed as Time’s Athlete of the Year for 2024, a title she was given after helping the league reach new levels of popularity. Shortly after she was drafted for the WNBA in April, Clark said she did not feel pressured to make the league more popular, suggesting that its popularity was happening naturally.
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The debate over whether or not Clark’s popularity stemmed from privilege or her ethnicity was discussed by several personalities earlier this year, with The View co-host Sunny Hostin suggesting Clark benefited from both “white privilege” and “pretty privilege.” On the other end of the debate, ESPN host Pat McAfee argued that the Indiana Fever had “somebody special” with Clark, adding that her popularity was possibly due to her record-breaking performance and “how electrifying she is” on the court.
Clark was named Athlete of the Year right before Time gave President-elect Donald Trump the title of Person of the Year on Thursday, the second time he has won the title. Other nominees for 2024’s Person of the Year included Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, and podcast host Joe Rogan.