Activist and retired football star Megan Rapinoe has weighed in on simmering racial tensions in the WNBA.
Speaking with partner and retired WNBA legend Sue Bird on their podcast, A Touch More, Rapinoe raised the “racist” question at the heart of USA Today columnist Christine Brennan’s war with the WNBA players’ union.
“My visceral reaction was like, ‘That’s not right. That doesn’t feel good. Frankly, that feels racist,” Rapinoe told Bird.
That controversial question was directed at Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington, who has been in the crosshairs of Caitlin Clark fans since she poked the Indiana Fever rookie in the eye during the playoff opener last month.
Brennan, who is writing a book about Clark’s rookie season, asked Carrington if the eye poke was intentional, which the player denied. Similarly, Carrington also denied laughing about the incident after cameras caught her giggling with teammates later in their Game 1 win. (The Sun would defeat Clark’s Fever in the best-of-three series to advance to the semi-finals)
Caitlin Clark (right) is defended by DiJonai Carrington in their first round
Sue Bird (far left) and Megan Rapinoe (near left) addressed Christine Brennan (right)
But while Carrington answered Brennan’s questions without complaint, the WNBA players’ union responded with a scathing statement aimed at the famed columnist.
“To unprofessional members of the media like Christine Brennan: You are not fooling anyone,” the WNBPA statement said. “That so-called interview in the name of journalism was a blatant attempt to entice a professional athlete to participate in a story that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic and misogynistic vitriol on social media. You can’t hide behind your tenure.
“You have abused your privileges and do not deserve the credentials provided to you.”
Brennan, a 66-year-old sportswriting pioneer, has been defended by dozens of journalists since the controversy began, including some from both sides of the political divide. For example, liberal Keith Olbermann and conservative Jason Whitlock both condemned the WNBPA for their statement.
In addition, USA Today released a statement saying that the newspaper “rejects the idea that the interview perpetuated any narrative other than to get the players’ perspective directly.”
No foul was called, despite the contact leaving the 22-year-old in pain on the ground
Rapinoe, on the other hand, believes Brennan instinctively defended a white player.
“I think it’s so unfair when Christine Brennan and other media members say, ‘I’m just asking the question,’” Rapinoe said. “But what actually happens is your natural instinct is to protect and tell on white players, versus ‘go after black players and tell on them.’ That’s the problem for me.
“The premise of the question is based on the belief that DiJonai is being targeted, that DiJonai is specifically being punched or swiped in Caitlin’s eyeball,” Rapinoe continued.
Both Bird and Rapinoe were quick to dismiss the eye poke as accidental.
“First of all, the square footage of Caitlin’s eyeball is very small,” Rapinoe said.
“That was my first thought,” Bird agreed. “Do you know how hard it would be to point someone in the eye and poke them?”
And although Clark suffered a black eye, she has dismissed the incident and said she does not believe Carrington meant to hurt her.
Still, that hasn’t stopped fans and media from calling for a suspension.
“DiJonai Carrington stabbed Caitlin Clark in the eye with a fingernail,” Whitlock later wrote on X. “It could have damaged the career of the WNBA meal ticket and the greatest American sports star of all time. ESPN and the WNBA have yet to discuss this story. Carrington should be suspended.”
Clark had a noticeable shine on her right eye during her post-match press conference
Carrington was not suspended, nor was she even whistled for a foul during the game — two things that have fueled some fans’ beliefs that Clark is the victim of anti-white racism.
The storyline has been a constant theme throughout the 2024 season as the WNBA has broken all sales and television viewing records. Many players and teams have expressed racist fan abuse, much of it centered around the rivalry between rookies Clark, who is white, and Angel Reese, who is black.
Asked about the issue when she appeared on CNBC last month, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert compared the Clark-Reese dynamic to the NBA’s famous Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry, which also involved players of different races.
“That’s what makes people watch,” Engelbert said. ‘They want to see important matches between rivals. They don’t want everyone to be nice to each other.’
In a conversation with Bird, Rapinoe rejected that explanation wholeheartedly.
“She basically suggested that racial tensions are good for business, citing Magic and Bird,” Rapinoe said.
And Rapinoe’s problems with Engelbert didn’t end there.
As she and Bird explained, racism in the WNBA occurred long before Clark’s arrival attracted waves of new fans. The problem also exists at the college level, where Reese and her LSU teammates and defending champion South Carolina have faced racist online abuse in recent years.
Engelbert, Rapinoe said, should have anticipated this problem.
‘I’m looking forward to it too [WNBA players] have been failed tremendously this year by the league and by Cathy the commissioner,” Rapinoe said. ‘Like it [Bird] said: this is not new. This is coming.”
Jason Whitlock claimed that ‘Dijonai Carrington stabbed Caitlin Clark in the eye with a fingernail’
And the problem hasn’t gone anywhere in the playoffs.
After the most successful regular season in league history, the ongoing WNBA postseason is in danger of being overshadowed by controversy. While many Clark supporters have accused the league of conspiring against its biggest star, a number of players have expressed frustrations over racist fan abuse, much of which appears to have come from Clark supporters.
“I don’t think in my 11-year career I’ve ever experienced racist comments like those from Indiana Fever fans,” Thomas said Thursday.
Clark discussed the racist comments directed at her black colleagues with reporters last week following the Fever’s first-round play-off defeat at the hands of the Sun.
“It’s absolutely disturbing,” Clark said Friday morning. “No one in our league should experience any form of racism, hurtful, disrespectful, hateful comments or threats. Those aren’t fans. Those are trolls and it’s a real disservice to the people of our league, the organization, the WNBA.”