Mother Jones
These Dudes Don’t Think It’s Safe to Be a Straight White Woman in the WNBA
Caitlin Clark is in danger, but thankfully she has the good citizens of right-wing media to protect her.
On Wednesday night, Clark’s Indiana Fever took on the Phoenix Mercury when, in the second quarter, Clark lost her footing while driving to the basket. During a brief scramble for the ball, Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas lodged a fist into Clark’s throat. Thomas, known widely to people in the know as one of the more physical players in the league, was eventually given a flagrant 2 foul, the league’s most serious penalty, after league review and suspended for one game.
That’s not enough for right-wing media, which has gone overboard in her defense. Noted conservative commentator Benny Johnson, for instance, wanted justice, tweeting the next day to his four million followers, “This is our George Floyd.”
This is our George Floyd pic.twitter.com/TLEy6a7aPR
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 25, 2026
As of this writing, the pile-on continues:
This is absolutely vile.
I’m no WNBA fan but Caitlin Clark is CLEARLY being assaulted constantly just because she’s White.
I’m sick of pretending otherwise.
They are beating her because they are anti-White and they hate she’s better than them. pic.twitter.com/YNktm2bxGB
— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) June 25, 2026
Boomer Esiason, a former pro football player turned radio personality, even floated the idea of Clark taking her talents over to Europe. “If I were Caitlin Clark, I would seriously consider going to play overseas somewhere and get the royal treatment,” Esiason said. “She’s a straight, white basketball player. And she is not being treated with any sort of respect.”
"If I were Caitlin Clark, I would seriously consider going to play overseas somewhere and get the royal treatment…she's a straight white basketball player. And she is not being treated with any sort of respect" – Boomer Esiason pic.twitter.com/zeFRdOMLVn
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 25, 2026
And look, maybe Boomer has a point. Maybe players are being unnecessarily mean to Caitlin Clark. After all, young, popular athletes in other leagues are never targeted like this by their peers, and it’s only been Black women who have publicly challenged Clark’s dominance. Maybe she should go to some peaceful majority-white oasis where she can be free of dumb squabbles about race and gender. She could probably become the multi-million dollar face of a league, even get her own signature shoe. Caitlin Clark could become an icon.