WNBA and players condemn racist abuse as Caitlin Clark’s Fever lose in playoffs

The Indiana Fever’s loss to the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA playoffs was overshadowed by the fact that representatives from both teams, as well as the league, condemned racial abuse surrounding the game.

Fever star Caitlin Clark has become one of the most talked-about sports stars in the United States during her rookie season. That has led to a significant amount of racist, sexist and homophobic comments online from people who claim to be defending Clark, who is white, in a league where the majority of players are black and many are gay.

During Wednesday’s game, which Connecticut won 87-81 to take the series 2-0, there were reports of racist abuse from some in Indiana’s home crowd. Some Sun players have also been the subject of insults online. Clark suffered a black eye in Game 1 of the series after a foul from DiJonai Carrington. Both players say the injury was unintentional. Before Wednesday’s game, Carrington shared on social media an email she had received that called her a racial slur, before the sender said they hope someone “rapes you and chops your head off.”

After the match, Suns forward Alyssa Thomas said the racist abuse surrounding the series was the worst she had experienced in her 11-year career.

“It’s unacceptable, honestly,” Thomas said. “There’s no place for it. We’ve been professional the whole time, but I’ve never been called anything like that on social media.

“Basketball is going in a great direction, but we don’t want fans to belittle us and call us racist names. I mean, we see what’s going on in the world and what we’re dealing with in that regard. And we come to play basketball for a living and it’s fun, but we don’t want to come to work every day and have social media blow up about this stuff. That’s not appropriate. Something has to be done, whether they’re controlling their fans or this league, there’s no time for that anymore.”

Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides also condemned the abuse.

“There’s a lot of hurtful, hateful language that’s out there, and it’s unacceptable. When it gets personal to me, there’s no reason for it to be,” she said. “These guys have to listen and watch — social media is their life. It’s just what they do. And they have to read and see this stuff all the time, and just all these stories that are made up of what people see or think they see. It’s just not acceptable when it gets personal.”

The WNBA released a statement in response to Sides and Thomas’ comments.

“The WNBA is a competitive league with some of the most elite athletes in the world,” the report said. “While we welcome a growing fan base, the WNBA does not tolerate racist, derogatory or threatening comments about players, teams or anyone affiliated with the league. League security actively monitors activity related to threats and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate action, including involving law enforcement as necessary.”

In June, Clark condemned those who used her name to abuse other players.

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

During Wednesday’s game, Clark got into an altercation with a fan sitting in the second row, who was briefly removed by security before being allowed to return. It is unclear what was said during the confrontation.