Ugh. I’m so sorry you, Chanda and everyone experienced that. This is heartbreaking. I hope Clark speaks up and out more effectively and immediately. In Euro soccer, players walk off the pitch when fans are racist towards their teammates. That’s what the she and the Fever should do next time. Address their fans.
I mean it took years and they don’t all do it but currently yes, many do especially in countries where fans are super racist. It’s really nice to see and educational for the fans.
There is no excuse for Clark's relative quietness on the matter. She needs to make a clear and authoritative statement on all her social media accounts ASAP (and not via stories that disappear!). And that's just the bare minimum.
But this exact thing happened at the Liberty game I went to last night - men behind me were shouting misogynistic and racist things at the Lynx players. Why are Liberty players not expected to speak out against them? Probably because they don't know them, and they didn't know this happened. Why is Caitlin being held to such a higher standard? Why is it assumed she knows everything that's happened and is responsible for everyone's behavior? We saw her call out a fan who was insulting her and her teammates. I'm sure if she saw these other fans, she would've called them out as well. I was at the same game as Frankie and didn't see who they were talking about, nor did I feel unsafe (and I'm a visibly queer person like them.)
I don't say this to downplay anything these players have experienced, but only to say that placing the individual load on Caitlin is essentially scapegoating her for a much wider issue - it feels like people want to blame her, to put her in a category of "bad white person" to avoid addressing their own complicity in the overall racism that's always existed in the league. Especially as everyone seems to want her to speak on social media, which is not all that effective seeing as the nature of algorithms means that a lot of people won't even see her post. The most important thing is actual action taken to protect these players. Caitlin has already made it clear she doesn't agree with any of this happening.
I want to say that I don’t think the onus here is on Caitlin as a person or an individual—this is a larger, league and systemic problem. One thing I want to clarify because I see it being used to say that Clark did speak up during that game: I’ve confirmed with five sources (including some team sources) that the fan Clark pointed to told her to stop whining after a call. He didn’t say anything personal or related to anyone’s identity, which is why he was ultimately allowed to remain at the game and in his seat. I don’t think that changes any larger points around where the problem lies.
He called her and her teammates "c*nts" - I was right near him, and I think it's clear based on Lyss' reaction when she told her what happened on the broadcast that it wasn't just "stop whining." If she kicked out anyone who told her to stop whining in a game, she'd have to kick out... a lot of people, lol. Obviously that remark doesn't have a racial component, so it's definitely not as bad as what other players have received, but it is identity-based in the way it's misogynistic. I think him being allowed back to his seat more speaks to the league not really seeing that kind of insult as that big of a deal. It's actually alarming that anyone would say that she was just told to stop whining - I'm not sure if it's just that's what he told security, or if they were trying to downplay the situation.
And my apologies for misconstruing you putting the blame on Caitlin individually - I just thought that's what the commenter was saying, and saw that you liked the comment.
I followed up because I saw the c*unts rumor on social media and wanted to confirm. As I said, I had five sources say the same thing, including multiple fans who were seated near him which I confirmed by seeing their tickets.
The statement given to me by the team said: “The fan was not escorted out of the game. Security met with him back of house, deemed that he did not violate the WNBA code of conduct policy, and he was returned to his seat.”
I only know what my reporting found. I know Clark dealt with a lot this season from all directions and I have no desire to downplay that. I hope she can get some rest and take care of herself this offseason.
I just wanted to say I'm sorry you felt unsafe at this game, and just wanted to share my experience of attending the Liberty series, where this same behavior has occurred - when Caitlin was nowhere in sight. I think this is a much larger issue that must be nipped in the bud.
CC did ask the ref to address a particular fan, but I didn't ever see what he said to cause her to do that. I'm a little surprised that wasn't mentioned -- does anyone know the rest of that story?
It hasn’t been reported yet—that’s actually what I’ve been working on trying to report out. I do know what was said but need to make sure my sourcing is right enough to report it publicly. What I will say is that the fan was allowed back to his seat, which should tell you at least something.
(Asking out of genuine curiosity. I watched from home -- it was a great game, and I don't want stupid horrible people to ruin it. I hate that this is happening)
Ugh. I’m so sorry you, Chanda and everyone experienced that. This is heartbreaking. I hope Clark speaks up and out more effectively and immediately. In Euro soccer, players walk off the pitch when fans are racist towards their teammates. That’s what the she and the Fever should do next time. Address their fans.
That's awesome; I love that they walk off the pitch!
I mean it took years and they don’t all do it but currently yes, many do especially in countries where fans are super racist. It’s really nice to see and educational for the fans.
Exactly!
There is no excuse for Clark's relative quietness on the matter. She needs to make a clear and authoritative statement on all her social media accounts ASAP (and not via stories that disappear!). And that's just the bare minimum.
But this exact thing happened at the Liberty game I went to last night - men behind me were shouting misogynistic and racist things at the Lynx players. Why are Liberty players not expected to speak out against them? Probably because they don't know them, and they didn't know this happened. Why is Caitlin being held to such a higher standard? Why is it assumed she knows everything that's happened and is responsible for everyone's behavior? We saw her call out a fan who was insulting her and her teammates. I'm sure if she saw these other fans, she would've called them out as well. I was at the same game as Frankie and didn't see who they were talking about, nor did I feel unsafe (and I'm a visibly queer person like them.)
I don't say this to downplay anything these players have experienced, but only to say that placing the individual load on Caitlin is essentially scapegoating her for a much wider issue - it feels like people want to blame her, to put her in a category of "bad white person" to avoid addressing their own complicity in the overall racism that's always existed in the league. Especially as everyone seems to want her to speak on social media, which is not all that effective seeing as the nature of algorithms means that a lot of people won't even see her post. The most important thing is actual action taken to protect these players. Caitlin has already made it clear she doesn't agree with any of this happening.
I want to say that I don’t think the onus here is on Caitlin as a person or an individual—this is a larger, league and systemic problem. One thing I want to clarify because I see it being used to say that Clark did speak up during that game: I’ve confirmed with five sources (including some team sources) that the fan Clark pointed to told her to stop whining after a call. He didn’t say anything personal or related to anyone’s identity, which is why he was ultimately allowed to remain at the game and in his seat. I don’t think that changes any larger points around where the problem lies.
He called her and her teammates "c*nts" - I was right near him, and I think it's clear based on Lyss' reaction when she told her what happened on the broadcast that it wasn't just "stop whining." If she kicked out anyone who told her to stop whining in a game, she'd have to kick out... a lot of people, lol. Obviously that remark doesn't have a racial component, so it's definitely not as bad as what other players have received, but it is identity-based in the way it's misogynistic. I think him being allowed back to his seat more speaks to the league not really seeing that kind of insult as that big of a deal. It's actually alarming that anyone would say that she was just told to stop whining - I'm not sure if it's just that's what he told security, or if they were trying to downplay the situation.
And my apologies for misconstruing you putting the blame on Caitlin individually - I just thought that's what the commenter was saying, and saw that you liked the comment.
I followed up because I saw the c*unts rumor on social media and wanted to confirm. As I said, I had five sources say the same thing, including multiple fans who were seated near him which I confirmed by seeing their tickets.
The statement given to me by the team said: “The fan was not escorted out of the game. Security met with him back of house, deemed that he did not violate the WNBA code of conduct policy, and he was returned to his seat.”
I only know what my reporting found. I know Clark dealt with a lot this season from all directions and I have no desire to downplay that. I hope she can get some rest and take care of herself this offseason.
It looks like there is a WNBA segment on 60 Minutes Sunday with some players being interviewed from what I could see in the clip 👀👀👀
I just wanted to say I'm sorry you felt unsafe at this game, and just wanted to share my experience of attending the Liberty series, where this same behavior has occurred - when Caitlin was nowhere in sight. I think this is a much larger issue that must be nipped in the bud.
CC did ask the ref to address a particular fan, but I didn't ever see what he said to cause her to do that. I'm a little surprised that wasn't mentioned -- does anyone know the rest of that story?
It hasn’t been reported yet—that’s actually what I’ve been working on trying to report out. I do know what was said but need to make sure my sourcing is right enough to report it publicly. What I will say is that the fan was allowed back to his seat, which should tell you at least something.
Thanks. I'll look forward to seeing your follow up!
(Asking out of genuine curiosity. I watched from home -- it was a great game, and I don't want stupid horrible people to ruin it. I hate that this is happening)