Caitlin Clark held her final media session of the season Thursday and said she has talked with Kelsey Mitchell since her backcourt mate spoke about online hate she has received and the difficulty of playing with the Indiana Fever at times.
The intense attention the organization has gotten since Clark joined has attracted a vocal group that has been abusive to Fever players and others around the league.
“Showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard,” Mitchell had said Saturday during her season-ending media session.
It “makes you upset,” Clark said of what her teammate has gone through, noting that Mitchell is a “good soul.” Clark denounced anyone who would spew abuse in her name but also said she appreciates the genuine fans who have supported her, the team and the organization.
“As far as people that have used me to demonstrate racist rhetoric or hate or discrimination, that’s not something I stand for,” Clark said. “That’s never been something I’ve stood for. For those of you that know me, you know that’s not what I’m about. It’s not how I was raised, so that’s really disappointing when people do that.
“I think it kind of gets into this larger discussion in mainstream sports of what people go through. I think just recently I saw Coco Gauff came out and kind of talked about her experience as well. So anytime I see something like that, [it] makes me upset, makes me sad, makes me really disappointed. Because that’s not who I am. It’s not what I’m about.”
Retaining Mitchell, who is an unrestricted free agent after setting the WNBA single-season scoring record, is the top priority for the Fever, but she made it clear that on-court, basketball-related factors won’t be the only influence on her decision. Mitchell has played all nine seasons with Indiana after being the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft.
“For my teammates, obviously, there’s a lot of really great things that come with playing here, too,” Clark said. “And as far as Kelsey and our future with her, with the organization, she knows how much I love her, and we’ve talked since the season has ended. And there’s nobody I would want to share the backcourt with other than her.
“I know this organization is, we’re going to work our butt off to get her back. We’re going to recruit her as hard as we can. Every player that is signed to a contract is going to recruit her as hard as we can. We need her. We love her.
“I hope for the rest of my career I get to play alongside her,” Clark said.
Mitchell isn’t the first player to voice her frustration with fans, particularly those associated with Indiana who crossed the line from critical to abusive. A’ja Wilson of the Aces got into an altercation with a fan during Game 2 of the postseason opening round inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Aces teammate Jackie Young took issue with a pair of fans sitting courtside in Indiana in August. None of those involved were found to have violated the league’s fan code of conduct. Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas said she received death threats and was called racial slurs after receiving a one-game suspension for making contact with Clark’s throat with her first.
General manager Amber Cox said last week that “the attacks on our fanbases have no basis in reality, and they need to stop.”
Former Fever player Brianna Turner, who serves as treasurer of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, disagreed, posting on social media, “This is an unequivocally false statement.”
Clark said she doesn’t remember the last time she has checked her direct messages on social media, specifically to avoid all of the bitter talk.
“I just try to block out the noise the best I can,” Clark said. “Obviously, I’ve been under this microscope with the lights bright for six years now. So you kind of figure out how to navigate it. That doesn’t mean everything’s easy for me. That doesn’t mean there aren’t moments that are hard. And that goes the same [for] players in this league, that doesn’t make it easy for them. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t hard days. But, obviously, the WNBA has grown so much, and there’s more and more eyeballs. I think for the real fans that do show up and do support and do respect, I applaud you. And there are a lot of you, and that’s not just here in Indianapolis. That’s across the league.
“I think there’s certainly a line, and that can’t be crossed,” she added. “I think any of us, and any person in their right mind, know that there’s certain rhetoric that’s just not OK, and that’s not something I’ve ever stood for. But at the same time, there are a lot of really great fans and a lot of fans that I really truly enjoy getting to play in front of and I’m really thankful for. And I thank them for coming out. They made it a great season and were loud every single night.
“But for me, I think just I do the best I can to block it out, block out the noise, and try to limit my time on social media the best I can.”