Geno Auriemma weighed in on Caitlin Clark and her standing in the WNBA, saying that on-court confrontations involving the Indiana Fever star should not be viewed as a "referendum on America."
Auriemma offered a wide range of comments about Clark during a recent interview with the "Sports Media with Richard Deitsch" podcast. The longtime UConn women's basketball coach emphasized that he doesn't blame Clark for the attention she receives and noted that Clark's fanbase is responsible for much of the conversation around the former Iowa star.
"Because the bandwagon and the fandom became so obsessed with the whole thing, it turned into a cause," Auriemma said. "[Clark] became the reason why white players get beat up in the WNBA and she became the reason why Black players don't get the endorsements and don't get the adulation that white players get. ... Not every foul is a good foul. Not every foul's a bad foul, but there are fouls that are flagrant -- but that's all they are. They are not a referendum on America, which is what the whole goddamn thing has become."
The debate over Clark's treatment from the WNBA and its officials has raged since last month, when Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas received a one-game suspension after she made contact with her fist to Clark's throat.
Thomas called the play a "complete accident," but the WNBA ultimately ruled that the play was a flagrant foul. Fever coach Stephanie White bemoaned the way officials call opponents' physical play against Clark, saying at the time that "[Clark] is not called the same way as everybody else is called."
Auriemma countered that "every first-round draft pick gets fouled hard" and reiterated previous comments about Clark's impact on the WNBA, citing Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Tiger Woods as famous athletes that Clark is compared to by her fans.
"It's that whole s---storm of, 'This is Jesus coming down to save the WNBA,'" Auriemma said. "Now I hope people listening can differentiate here. She never stood up and said, 'I'm Jesus and I'm coming.'
"This was not something created by her. It was created about her by all the people in America who are delusional that think one player who's not Wemby is going to come in and transform the league."
Clark admitted Friday that she was frustrated over the level of attention focused on Thomas' flagrant foul.
"When I turned the TV on Sunday, and that game was on Wednesday and that's all people were talking about. I feel like that's such a disservice to the rest of our league," she said. "I get it, you have to talk about it ... but to continue to beat down and beat down for the narrative to be taken to other places that's really just not acceptable."
Auriemma, who has won a record 12 NCAA championships since becoming UConn's coach in 1985, will be part of ESPN's special broadcast of Tuesday's game between the Dallas Wings and New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Auriemma acknowledged that some WNBA players harbor "personal animosities" toward Clark.
"I do think there are some personal animosities in that league where people are going to take a shot at her unfairly," he said. "No question about that. ... But yes, it shouldn't be a national referendum -- and yes, there are players in that league that would love to kick her ass every minute of every day."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
