WNBA star Caitlin Clark is speaking out against people using her name to promote their racist agendas. The 22-year-old Indiana Fever rookie spoke up for her teammates and opponents as many right-wing commentators continue to suggest that Clark is facing harsh treatment because she is white. Speaking with The Athletic’s James Boyd on June 13 as her team was preparing to face the Atlanta Dream, Clark said “it’s disappointing” to see how her name is being used.

“I think everybody in our world deserves to have the same amount of respect,” Clark told Boyd. “The women in our league deserve the same amount of respect. So, people should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing, it’s not acceptable.”

Some of the WNBA’s Black players, particularly Chicago Sky players Chennedy Carter and Angel Reece, have been subjected to hateful comments online after getting caught up in heated moments with Clark on the court. Popular conservative outlets such as OutKick continue to unleash a barrage of insults against Clark’s opponents while suggesting the Fever rookie is a victim of racism because of the way she is treated on the court.

Dan Dakich, a member of OutKick, told TMZ that Clark’s opponents are jealous of her. He also said Clark may be “targeted” because she is white and straight.

“There’s a little bit of racism or sexism in there, you know, straight white girl,” he told TMZ.

Clark, however, is showing respect for the league and all the players who came before her.

“This league is a league I grew up admiring and wanting to be a part of,” Clark said, per Complex. “Some of the women in this league were my biggest idols and role models growing up and helped me wanting to achieve this moment right here that I get to play in every single night. Just treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect — I think it’s just a basic human thing that everybody should do.”

Clark’s supporters continued to unleash their fury on June 16 after Reese committed a flagrant foul on her fellow rookie.

Clark said she is trying to focus on basketball despite all the noise.

“I don’t put too much thought and time into thinking about things like that, and to be honest, I don’t see a lot of it,” Clark told Boyd per Complex. “Like I said, basketball is my job. Everything on the outside, I can’t control that, so I’m not going to spend time thinking about that.”

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