Former ESPN host and columnist Jemele Hill pushed back this week on the widespread claim that WNBA players harbor animosity toward Caitlin Clark, calling the narrative surrounding hard fouls against the Indiana Fever star unfair and overblown.
Speaking on The Awful Announcing Podcast, Hill addressed commentators like Jason Whitlock and Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, who have accused WNBA players of targeting Clark out of jealousy. Whitlock has specifically argued that Clark’s rivals resent her for being white and straight.
“This narrative that the media keeps drilling that the players don’t like her, that they’re jealous of her, that they want to hurt her,” Hill said, “that is not the dominant perspective or feeling in the league.” She added that villainizing players for competing with Clark “is something that will prove to be historically embarrassing by the way it has been discussed.”
The debate intensified last month after Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas punched Clark in the throat. Thomas was not initially called for a foul but was later suspended one game for the incident, which Thomas has said was inadvertent.
Hill said she has empathy for Clark, noting the Fever guard did not seek to become a flashpoint in a culture war. She said a segment of Clark’s fanbase has used the player as a vehicle for racism, and that any incident involving Clark generates hours of Fox News programming.
Right-wing commentator Clay Travis responded critically on X, calling Awful Announcing a “far left wing sports site” and drawing attention to negative reader reactions to the interview. Critics on social media also attacked Hill directly, with some dismissing her as irrelevant and others mocking the outlet for platforming her.
