Fans accuse WNBA of ignoring racist abuse towards players before Caitlin Clark’s playoff exit

WNBA fans were outraged by the league’s delayed response to racial abuse of players after Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were eliminated on Wednesday night.

After Connecticut completed its sweep of Indiana, Alyssa Thomas addressed the racist abuse she received from Clark’s fans. The WNBA subsequently released a statement saying it has zero tolerance for racism.

However, fans were outraged by the league’s failure to speak out about racial violence against players when it reached a fever pitch during the season, amid Clark’s rivalry with fellow rookie Angel Reese.

“I’m sorry but releasing this AFTER the Fever got wiped out in the playoffs and NOW you want the intimidation and bigotry that players have to deal with!? GTFOH This is so unfair,” one fan exclaimed on X.

“Y’all ARE A WHOLE SEASON BEHIND! Y’all literally had a WHOLE season to do this and now you’re willing to say something??? Y’all are just as complicit in the behavior of some of these people,” another said.

On Wednesday, Clark’s fans were accused of racial abuse in the Fever’s loss to Connecticut

“They needed the split,” a third suggested. “If Indiana had won today, this wouldn’t have been placed in my opinion.”

“Waiting until Indiana loses to post this is extremely tasteless, extremely intentional, extremely obvious, extremely unfair to the players and fans who have been disrespected, threatened and harassed all season,” added a fourth.

The league’s statement read: “The WNBA is a competitive league featuring some of the most elite athletes in the world. While we welcome a growing fan base, the WNBA will not tolerate racist, derogatory or threatening comments about players, teams or anyone associated with the league.

League security will closely monitor threat-related activity and will work directly with teams and stadiums to take appropriate action, including involving law enforcement as needed.

Fans furious over WNBA’s delayed response to racial abuse against players

Clark’s racist abuse from fans first came to light when she was a rival to Reese. In September, Reese spoke out about threats she received from fans in Iowa and Indiana.

“I think there’s a lot of racism at play and I don’t think she’s advocating for that,” Reese said on the Unapologetically Angel podcast.

“But when it comes to death threats,” she continued, “people have come to my address, followed me home, and that’s what it came down to.”

Reese then explained how fans took AI-generated photos of her naked and sent them to her family members.

Reese (right) previously said she has been the target of racist abuse by Clark fans

“It sucks to see that,” Reese continued. “And it’s really hard for me to go through that. And now I see other players going through that too.”

Additionally, Reese’s teammates at Chicago Sky expressed concerns about racist behavior by their own fans after they were dropped from the race at the end of the season.

“I’ll be honest, it was tough. It was really tough,” said Dana Evans after Sky went down to the Sun in the season finale. “We’re professionals. We know we can play this game, but when you have people who are constantly bitching about you and who are supposed to be our supporters, I think it’s a bit of a slap in the face.

“That was really hard to deal with. It was really disgusting.”

Isabelle Harrison, who like Evans is African-American, said much of the hate took the form of “intolerance and racism.”

“I’ve never seen so much hate and intimidation this entire season,” Harrison said, appearing to hold back tears. “It makes me emotional.”