Caitlin Clark finds herself at the center of major controversy less than a month into her rookie season in the WNBA.
But according to former Indiana college player and coach Dan Dakich, racism doesn’t explain why opponents attack her on the court.
Clark, who was selected by the Indiana Fever with the first overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, has endured a brutal start to her big league life, taking severe physical punishment while losing nine of her first 12 games.
Earlier this month, Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter caused outrage by aggressively pushing the Fever superstar off the ball to the ground, before appearing to laugh it off with teammate Angel Reese.
Caitlin Clark is at the center of major controversy less than a month into her rookie WNBA season
Some believe Clark is the victim of racism in the league, with Outkick founder Clay Travis recently claiming she is being targeted because she is “a white heterosexual woman in a black lesbian league.”
However, Dakich disagrees. “Of course she’s going to be targeted,” the ex-Hoosier star shared TMZ Sports.
“There’s a little bit of racism or sexism in there, you know, straight white girl, okay, but that’s none of my business.”
Instead, Dakich thinks other WNBA players are taking out their frustrations on Clark out of jealousy.
The 61-year-old explained that his wife Leigh, who coached softball at Syracuse for decades, recently told him that women often don’t like seeing other women succeed in the sport.
“She said you will see incredible pettiness and jealousy,” he added. “We see that a lot.”
Clark has been brutally targeted by opponents, with Chennedy Carter causing outrage earlier this month by pushing her to the ground (pictured)
Former Indiana college player and coach Dan Dakich (right) thinks jealousy explains why the Fever rookie is being targeted
Clark is the biggest star in women’s basketball today – and one of the most popular players in the sport – after her historic college career at Iowa.
The 22-year-old, who recently signed a sponsorship deal with Nike worth an estimated $28 million, is drawing more attention to women’s football than ever before, with her Fever debut breaking ESPN viewership records.
Just like in college, she is also setting records as a WNBA player, becoming the fastest WNBA player to reach at least 200 points and 50 assists in league history this weekend.