WNBA star fumes over ‘unacceptable’ racist abuse from Caitlin Clark’s fanbase after playoff win over Indiana
Alyssa Thomas has had enough of Indiana Fever fans and their “unacceptable” racist insults, while supporting Caitlin Clark and the rest of her teammates.
Thomas was adamant about Fever fans after helping the Connecticut Sun eliminate the Fever from the playoffs and advance to the WNBA semifinals.
At Mohegan Sun Arena, one fan was heard mocking Dijonai Carrington’s eyelashes, while another wore a shirt that read “ban nails” and large fake nails on each finger.
“It’s a bunch of bullshit. I don’t think I’ve ever heard such racist comments from Indiana Fever fans in my 11-year career,” Thomas said.
“We put (Carrington’s) face on a serious matter that happened in this world and that’s unacceptable, quite frankly. And there’s no place for that and we’ve been professional throughout this whole thing, but I’ve never been called anything like that before on social media.”
Alyssa Thomas spoke out about ‘unacceptable’ racist abuse from Indiana Fever fans
Caitlin Clark’s season ended Wednesday night when the Fever lost to the Connecticut Sun
Thomas is referring to Carrington’s “eye poke” during Sunday’s match and whether she intended to hurt Clark.
“And there’s no place like it. Basketball is going in a great direction, but we don’t want fans who are going to belittle us and call us racist names. We see what’s happening in the world and what we’re going to have to deal with in that regard.”
“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 because of this stuff. It’s not appropriate and something needs to be done, whether they’re controlling their fans or the league. There’s no time for that anymore.”
The WNBA also released a statement Wednesday night following the Suns’ win over the Fever.
“The WNBA is a competitive league with 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,” the statement said.
‘League security is closely monitoring threat-related activity and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate action. Law enforcement will also be involved as needed.’