The mere presence of Caitlin Clark (or lack thereof) has driven a lot of conversations this year, and the Indiana Fever star did so again when the WNBA advertised the 2024 playoffs on social media.
In a post on X, the WNBA tweeted “THE STAGE IS SET,” asking fans to leave their predictions on which of the eight teams would be crowned the champion. It also included members of each playoff team. The Fever’s representative? Two-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell.
Most comments didn’t take kindly to the fact that Clark wasn’t in the graphic. This isn’t the first time fans have thought the league had something against Clark, who has packed arenas and driven ticket prices to new heights.
Earlier this year, Clark was not included on the Olympic roster. Charles Barkley even said “so much negativity” surrounded Clark.
“These ladies, and I’m a WNBA fan, they cannot have f—– this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried,” Barkley said. “If you got a bunch of dudes in a room and said, ‘Let’s f— up the WNBA,’ we couldn’t have come up with a massive plan (better than) what these women have done.”
Recently, Atlanta Dream vice president and part owner Renee Montgomery was critical of a portion of Clark’s fanbase, saying they are being “racist, sexist and violent with their words.”
“Besides the bots, I don’t even think some of (Clark’s) faux fans actually even watch her games,” Montgomery said. “And it doesn’t even seem like it’s about Caitlin anymore, the stans. Like, it doesn’t even seem like they care what goes on in the basketball aspect. They’re just there on social media, ready to fight, OK?”
Here is the reaction to Clark not being included in the WNBA’s playoff tweet.
Fever coverage: From cardboard fans to sold-out arenas, no one has IndyStar’s experience on Caitlin Clark
I gotta be honest here. I’m a Fever fan and a Caitlin Clark fan, but I have no issues with Kelsey Mitchell being on this graphic. You guys gotta remember that this is STILL Kelsey’s team. She’s been a Fever the longest. I’m sure Caitlin would agree with this as well.
— Freedom Runner (@FreedomRunner5) September 21, 2024
This is like the NBA leaving out Michael Jordan, and thinking they’re virtuous for doing so.
— Useless Tree (@_Useless_Tree_) September 20, 2024
I knew they was go be crying in the comments because someone wasn’t on the poster 😂
— Efeso100 (@Efeso1001) September 21, 2024
Attendance way up, arenas sold out and you leave off the player responsible for the success? Bravo. 👏 👏
— Tim Rhodes (@TRhodes96) September 20, 2024
Never thought it would be possible to out swoop Swoopes.
— gigiDtx (@gigi_dtx) September 21, 2024
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark omitted from WNBA tweet. Fans reacted
