WNBA star Caitlin Clark sent a clear message to any of her fans who use “racist rhetoric or hate” to attack Indiana Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell.
“That’s not something I stand for,” Clark said Thursday at her end-of-season press conference. “It’s never been something I’ve stood for. For those of you who know me, you know that’s not what I’m about. That’s not how I was raised. So that’s really disappointing when people do that.”
On Saturday, Mitchell addressed the difficulties she has faced while playing in the spotlight with Clark, including hateful private messages she has received on social media and “a lot of flak just from being on (Clark’s) team.”
“As her teammate, that makes you upset, because you care about your teammates so much,” Clark said. “You don’t want any of them to go through something like that. For the people that follow me, obviously there is such a microscope on me, and that comes with everybody else that I’ve been teammates with, whether that was my time at Iowa or whether that’s been here. It comes with a lot of really great things and then at times there are some negatives.”
The Fever season ended on Oct. 1 with a Game 3 loss to the Las Vegas Aces in a best-of-three first-round playoff series.
A four-time All-Star, Mitchell can enter free agency this offseason. She said it’s too early to make a decision on her future.
Clark, an All-Star in each of her first three seasons, said she hopes her fellow guard will continue to call Indianapolis home.
“As far as Kelsey and our future with her with the organization, I think she knows how much I love her,” Clark said. “We’ve talked since the season has ended, and there’s nobody I would want to share the backcourt with other than her.”
Mitchell, 30, averaged 24.7 points and 2.8 assists and started all 44 games this season, her ninth with the Fever. Clark, 24, made 40 starts and averaged 22.3 points, 8.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
