Caitlin Clark spoke out about the media coverage of her after weeks of national controversy, claiming that outlets have made false characterizations” of who she is.
“I think there’s just like a false characterization of who I am sometimes,” she said in an interview with ESPN on Friday.
Controversy hit a boiling point in recent days after USA Today published an opinion piece in which the writer invoked the murder of Emmett Till while criticizing the Indiana Fever guard for falling to the floor when hit by opposing players and arguing with referees over foul calls.
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“And I get it, like, as a reporter or as a blogger, like you can write an opinion piece and that’s your job and whatever. But at the same time, like you don’t know me. Like we’ve never had a conversation. I get people have a job to do. But at the same time, like don’t make accusations about my character and who I am when you don’t know me,” Clark said.
“I understand this is your job and this is your profession, and this is what you get to do. And basketball is my profession, what I get to do. And the reason I play it is when I step in between the lines, I love it. And that’s what’s so fun about it for me is like, I get to compete. This was always my dream. And nobody should ever try to take that away from me.”
Clark said that she believes some coverage isn’t “based in reality.”
“I think a lot of it is like, it’s not always based in reality. I feel like media and journalism have a responsibility to tell the stories and a lot of times you guys are the ones controlling the narratives about what people read and what people talk about and a lot of that is sometimes so far out of touch with what is reality.”
The maelstrom of national controversy began when Clark was punched in the throat by Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas during a game in June. Referees did not call a foul in the moment, but later issued Thomas a one-game suspension after the game was over.
The incident and imagery of it ignited weeks of emotional discourse by fans and pundits across the media landscape, and often incited racial debates.
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Clark reflected on the throat punch and its ugly fallout.
“It seems like there’s always a moment like that in every season that I’ve played so far… it gets exhausting, it gets frustrating… yeah it was a hard foul, it should have been dealt with in the moment, and it should have been decided what it was then and reviewed it, great, we move on. We see it happen in the NBA all the time. It’s not anything more than that, it’s basketball,” Clark said.
“It’s emotionally exhausting, it’s draining, it makes your shoulders tense, because you know, people don’t want to talk about the basketball, they want to stir it up and make it something else.”
Clark expressed reminders to media and fans to look out for her feelings and emotional well-being on the first day of All-Star weekend on Friday.
“People forget like I have feelings… I feel things, I have emotions, I get emotional, I get frustrated, I get sad and I get upset,” Clark said in an interview with Sirius XM on Friday. “Social media is not always reality and that is really lost on people… you read all these things and you’re like ‘oh that has to be true, that has to be what people really think of me.’
“There’s going to always be people who don’t always agree with your playing style and how you carry yourself, and that’s okay. That might mean you’re doing something right too… there’s certainly days that are hard.”
Clark also brought up the toll to her emotional health while addressing her interaction with former President Barack Obama on the opening day of the weekend.
“He just complimented me for the way I handle everything. Obviously with everything going on, and he’s certainly someone who’s been in front of the media quite a bit. And he reminded me, he’s like ‘I got famous in my 40s, I didn’t have to do it in my 20s,'” Clark said.
“And you know, sometimes, I think people don’t always realize I’m 23 or 24 years old and trying to navigate a lot of different things, while trying to play basketball at the same time. So it was cool to hear that from him. And I think honestly it’s probably a good reminder to all of us to treat people with respect and treat people with grace.”
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