Dijonai Carrington did not like Caitlin Clark’s stance.
The Connecticut Sun star ripped the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick for saying early Thursday that she doesn’t spend much time thinking about how some have used her name to spread hate and that it doesn’t bother her.
Clark, following Carrington’s tweet, offered a much stronger rebuke later in the day.
“Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts,” Carrington tweeted. “We all see the sh*t. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.”
Carrington’s tweet came Thursday afternoon after Clark was asked a series of questions by The Athletic’s Jim Trotter regarding her feelings on how some have weaponized her name.
While there are plenty of healthy debates on Clark about her play, including whether she should have made the Olympics team, there are those who have been accused of using her name in cultural wars and spreading hate.
“The problem here is, and what concerns me going forward, is the people on the fringe that do exist, that are in real life, not just Internet trolls — politicians, pundits, and people of the like — who are using Caitlin Clark as an avatar to lash out at the people who they have disdain for, mainly the makeup of the WNBA, black women et al.,” Dennis said. “They are using her to go against Team USA. That is going to be the big tragedy here, how they are treated by those people that summer.”
Caitlin Clark scored seven points Thursday.Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
Trotter asked Clark directly her thoughts on the issue Thursday morning before she scored seven points in a 91-84 win over the Dream.
“It seems no matter what you do or what’s done to you, it becomes a topic nationally and a lot of times it becomes divisive,” Trotter asked. “I wonder, from your standpoint, how you feel about people using your name in whatever culture wars or whatever wars they are fighting, how do you feel about that?
Caitlin Clark and the Fever downed the Dream on Thursday.Getty Images
“It’s not something I can control so I don’t put too much thought and time into thinking about things like that,” Clark responded. “To be honest, I don’t see a lot of it. Like I’ve said, basketball is my job. Everything on the outside, I can’t control that so I’m not going to spend time thinking about that.
“’People can talk about what they want to talk about, create conversations about whatever it is. But I think, for myself, I am just here to play basketball. I’m here to have fun. I’m trying to help our team win. … I don’t pay much mind to all of that, to be honest.”
Trotter then asked how much she believes that has affected her ability to develop relationships in the league.
“I think everybody in the league understands, one, we’re excited about all this attention we’re getting. I think we’re appreciative of it, I think the league’s been great for a really long time,” Clark said. “My focus is on my teammates. They’ve been amazing. I don’t think it’s impacted me making relationships on my team.”
Dijonai Carrington did not appreciate Caitlin Clark’s initial response.Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Clark expanded on her teammates before Trotter followed with: “I understand you’re focused, I’m just curious, though, are you bothered…”
“No,” Clark interjected.
“That folks would attempt to weaponize your name in whatever fight they’re fighting,” he finished.
“No. I don’t see it, that’s not where my focus is,” Clark said. “My focus is here and on basketball and that’s where it needs to be and that’s where it has been and I’m just trying to get better on a daily basis.”
Carrington responds to Clark’s embellishing of a foul.David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Carrington tweeted her opinion on Clark’s comments roughly four hours later, although she did not name Clark in the tweet.
The two have a brief history already, with Carrington mocking Clark for embellishing contact on a foul call during the Sun’s win over the Fever on Monday.
Clark spoke again hours later and The Athletic’s James Boyd followed up with another question about the topic, this time listing the direct issues at hand.
“When people use your name for racism, misogyny, whatever, what is your response to that specifically,” Boyd asked.
Clark had a much different tone for this answer.
“I think it’s disappointing,” Clark said. “Everybody in our world deserves the same amount of respect. The women in our league deserve the same amount of respect. People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable. This league is the league I grew up admiring and wanting to be a part of.
“Some of the women in this league were my biggest idols and role models growing up, and helped me want to achieve this moment right here that I get to play in every single night. Just treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect is just a basic human thing that everyone should do. Just be a kind person and treat them how you would want to be treated. I think it’s very simple.”
Carrington did not tweet her reaction to Clark’s second remarks.
Clark and the Fever face the Sky on Sunday in a highly anticipated rematch following Chennedy Carter’s hip-check of Clark that sparked national discussions.
Indiana aims to win back-to-back games for the first time.
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