Caitlin Clark’s night against Phoenix featured a back injury, a controversial landing violation, and an uncalled Flagrant 2 involving Alyssa Thomas. Yet, the situation now is as if she were being put on the stand in a court case. After the league suspended Alyssa Thomas with a flagrant 2, she came out with claims of harassment and threats from fans. By now, almost all involved have spoken up, but Clark. As calls for her to speak out emerge, The Athletic’s Indianapolis Colts insider has quashed these doubts with past documentation. 

“People — especially reporters — need to stop pretending Caitlin Clark hasn’t denounced racism/hatred. She has. Repeatedly,” James Boyd wrote. “Asking her to address these issues *again* is more performative than productive. If you choose to ignore her past comments, that’s on *you* — not her.”

He further shared several past videos of Clark’s statements against such fan behavior. In her rookie season, Angel Reese and others received backlash after fouling Clark. The 2024 Rookie of the Year, however, spoke against the “trolls, not fans.” And Boyd shared that video:

“People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable,” Clark said in 2024. “Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, is just a basic human thing that everybody should do.”

Clark already has multiple things on her plate. She is suffering through her second injury in consecutive seasons. Last year, she spent all but 13 games on the sidelines with multiple soft-tissue injuries. This time it’s the back, which flared up in the Mercury game, and she missed the Sparks game as well. Her return is already described as uncertain by White.

The mental toll from all the noise is already very high.

Clark herself admitted to her mental struggles in the past concerning this outside noise and injury struggles. In addition, her coach has already condemned the incident. 

“It is absolutely unacceptable. Most of this (is) coming from the online community. Most of this, in my heart of hearts, I believe is not coming from WNBA fans, Indiana Fever fans,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said. “I believe that this is people who are using our league, using our players to further divisive agendas.”

Ultimately, even Rosgold Onwude and Angel McCoughtry agree that it’s up to Cathy Engelbert to deal with such problems.

“I don’t think she has the responsibility to. I think it’s unfair to put that on a player, but I have a lot less grace for it than I did in 2024. ” Rosgold Onwude said on the ‘Court Vision’ podcast. “Now we’re two or three years into her career. If she’s silent, it’s her decision to do so, and it will be read as such.

“I don’t think she has to say anything, but the choice to be silent is also an action, and that will be judged.” 

It’s the league’s responsibility, and they have taken some steps to combat hate in the past, like the 2025 “No Space for Hate” platform. Apparently, it’s not been enough, and the league will continue to be under scrutiny until they resolve these player issues. 

When it comes to Clark, whether she chooses to address the controversy again remains unknown. But as Boyd argued, portraying her as someone who has never condemned online abuse ignores multiple public statements she has already made.