The topic of online abuse WNBA players have been subjected to this season has been among the dominating storylines this postseason. Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas called out Indiana Fever fans after the Sun’s Game 2 series-clinching win.
“I think in my 11-year career, I’ve never experienced the racial comments (like those) from the Indiana Fever fan base,” Thomas said. “It’s unacceptable, honestly, and there’s no place for it. We’ve been professional throughout the whole entire thing, but I’ve never been called the things that I’ve been called on social media, and there’s no place for it.”
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Fever coach Christie Sides and Sun coach Stephanie White both addressed it in their postgame news conferences, the WNBA released a statement after the game, and Sides once again opened her Wednesday exit interview with local media saying there’s no room for racism.
Earlier this season, Fever rookie star Caitlin Clark was asked about the abuse some players were receiving, and she said there’s no place for it, and not to attach or use her to advance any hateful behavior. On Wednesday at team exit interviews, she was asked again.
Here’s what she said:
“It’s definitely upsetting… Nobody really should be facing any sort of racism, hurtful, disrespectful, hateful comments and threats. Those aren’t fans, those are trolls. It’s a real disservice to the people in our league, the organization, the players in the WNBA, but there are a lot of really good fans, whether they’ve been fans for 20-plus years or whether they are new fans in our league, I think continuing to uplift this league in a very positive light is the best thing we can do because there are so many great players, so many great teams, so many positive storylines that can be written and celebrated, and for me, that’s why I became a fan of this league because these people were my idols. I grew up wanting to be like them, so I think continuing to uplift and represent this league in a positive way is the best thing that we can do.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark on online abuse: ‘Those aren’t fans, those are trolls.’
