Caitlin Clark has stayed away from the controversy regarding her teammate Sophie Cunningham’s comments about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Cunningham’s views on “protecting young girls” have led to debates and rallies during Fever games, so after Sunday’s game with the Lynx, which saw a third consecutive rally, reporters directly asked Clark about her views.
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Clark refused to back her teammate or take sides and distanced herself from the subject. “I think, for us, it’s not really a discussion we really have in our locker room,” said the Indiana Fever star. However, former Fox News and NBC veteran Megyn Kelly found Clark’s stance unacceptable.
“Caitlin Clark was directly asked to speak on it, and she was cowardly. She refused to do it. It is one thing to inject politics into your sport where they don’t belong, like Colin Kaepernick kneeling in the middle of professional football games. It’s quite another when little girls are getting the s— kicked out of them in their sport,” she said in her podcast ‘The Megyn Kelly Show‘ on August 3.
“And you are the most famous woman in women’s basketball, and you’re directly asked as the issue rears its head in your sport, and you punt on it. You won’t say anything. You’d rather let the 12-year-olds handle it.”
Yet, that’s not how Caitlin Clark sees it. During that post-game press conference after Indiana’s 108-100 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday, Aug 2, Clark said that as players, their focus should be on basketball.
“I think it’s for leagues and the governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions, but our focus is on basketball,” Clark told reporters.
Then again, this isn’t uncharacteristic of the 24-year-old Fever star. Even during the controversial Alyssa Thomas flagrant foul incident, she didn’t participate in the debate around protecting players. Instead, the 2024 Rookie of the Year simply condemned the harassment of Thomas faced online.
“As I’ve stood here and said before, the harassment, the hate, none of that is OK. That goes for (the) opposing team we play. That goes for my teammates. That goes for my coaches. There should never be a question of character. ” Caitlin Clark told reporters on Friday, July 3.
Others haven’t shied away from expressing their opinion on the issue. On that same night, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a “trans kids belong” shirt. This came after Reeve and Cunningham had a respectful conversation about the issue on the court just ahead of the game.
It’s also not difficult to see why Clark, who has constantly talked about steering the focus back to the basketball, would distance herself from this debate. Perhaps Clark can pacify her critics by taking a stand similar to her coach, Stephanie White, who has said she “is not educated enough at different levels” on this issue.
Meanwhile, Cunningham has defended her stance on X: “I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense.” With the Indiana Fever taking on the Las Vegas Aces next, it won’t be surprising to see the shadow of this debate follow the Fever. However, Clark’s stance on the subject probably won’t change.