Caitlin Clark ended her rookie season in the WNBA with a fairly quiet first-round playoff loss, but of course it wouldn’t be a Caitlin Clark story without an extra layer of controversy.
The series matched Clark up with perhaps the most effective defender in the WNBA as DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun draped onto the WNBA Rookie of the Year, with Carrington using her trademark physicality to disrupt Clark. That physicality turned viral when Carrington made contact with Clark’s face on a shot attempt in Game 1 of the series.
The incident led USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, who already had made a habit of tailing Clark and is writing a book about the Indiana Fever phenom, to put Carrington through a rather insistent line of questioning about the hit. After Carrington dismissed the idea that her contact with Clark’s face was intentional, Brennan circled back to ask whether Carrington was laughing about the play afterward with a teammate, as various internet sleuths had speculated.
Later, the WNBA players’ association released a statement condemning Brennan and request that the league revoke Brennan’s credentials for the rest of the playoffs.
Now, in an interview with TIME after being named the magazine’s Athlete of the Year, Clark has made her stance clear on the situation.
“Never once did that cross my mind, that it was on purpose,” she told TIME. “I’ve been poked in the eye many times playing basketball. It happens.”
Reporter Sean Gregory added that Clark “supported” the WNBPA’s response and sided with Carrington.
“That whole line of questioning that [Carrington] got was not appropriate, and I did not like that,” Clark said.
The entire TIME profile is obviously an honor, but also clarifies Clark’s approach to media attention since entering the spotlight at Iowa. Clark speaks before and after every game, but other than that is largely quiet. Clark has given major interviews to Holly Rowe, Pat McAfee, Wright Thompson and now Gregory since her breakout performance in the 2023 NCAA tournament — but that’s about it.
Many quibbled with Clark’s choice to avoid taking a major stand as aggressive fans used her name and fame to take social stances. Fans and media also wondered why Clark chose not to address her own actions more directly, including the hit from Carrington, as well as, for example, Clark’s support on social media for Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris this fall.
Unless Clark’s fame and celebrity status unexpectedly dies down, Clark will continue to be scrutinized — both in what she says and what she doesn’t say. But as a means of responding to all the headlines around her rookie season in the WNBA, Clark was unusually transparent with TIME.
As for Brennan, she recently stood by her choices in an interview with Awful Announcing. Will Clark be cooperative with Brennan if she felt the reporter’s style was inappropriate just two months ago? We should have our answer soon, as Brennan’s book is due next July.
