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On Sunday, police arrested a man accused of stalking WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark. The Marion County Prosecutor’s office alleged the man sent Clark numerous threats and sexually explicit messages on social media before trying to physically contact her by traveling to Indianapolis.
The accused stalker, Michael Thomas Lewis, gleefully admitted to the accusations in court on Tuesday. “Guilty as charged,” he proudly shouted.
To this point, the WNBA has not commented on the matter. Nor have any notable WNBA players. The sports media has covered the story to the extent of reading the police report.
The silence is deafening.
Right? Isn’t that what we heard all summer when black players in the WNBA supposedly received hateful messages from trolls on the internet? Moreover, the very same groups – players, former players, media – ignoring the story about Clark’s stalker, spent months demanding she speak out for those black women.
In June, two reporters from the New York Times asked Clark why she had not commented on the so-called “mean tweets” that DiJonai Carrington and Chennedy Carter received after hard-fouling her on the court.
“Yeah, I think it’s disappointing,” Clark responded. “People should not be using my name to push those agendas.”
Fair. However, Clark’s answer was not good enough for Carrington. Not even close.
“Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts. We all see the sh*t. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury,” Carrington said on X.
DiJonai Carrington, who incessantly posts about Clark on social media, has not acknowledged the man arrested for harassing Clark. As she says, silence is a luxury.
Where is Jemele Hill, who could not help but insert herself into the race war of the WNBA last season? In September, Hill posted a lengthy message on X saying that Clark doesn’t face the same “hate” online that black women in the WNBA face.
Oh.
Jemele deleted that post this week, shortly after the man’s arrest:
ESPN HAS BARELY ACKNOWLEDGED CAITLIN CLARK’S STALKER
Where are the ESPNers who vilified Clark for not using her platform to stop the online hate that women of color in the WNBA face? Where are David Dennis Jr., Elle Duncan, Malika Andrews, Monica McNutt, and Chiney Ogwumike? They have nothing to say..
Nor does the official players association for the WNBA.
The WNPA released a statement in September calling for USA Today to discipline reporter Christine Brennan for asking Carrington about an on-court incident in which she jammed her fingernail into Clark’s eye, which several video angles suggest was intentional.
“USA Today Sports should explain why a reporter with clear bias and ulterior motives was assigned to cover the league,” WNBA Players’ Association executive director Terri Jackson said in a statement.
Given Carrington’s admitted issues with Clark, Brennan’s question was warranted. But we understand the player association having a player’s back.
What we can’t understand is the WNPA not commenting on the police arresting a stalker who sought physical contact with Clark after sending her sexually explicit messages.
In June, the WNBA community at large rallied behind Angle Reese and her teammates following an alleged incident outside a team hotel. Reese claimed on social media that a Cailtin Clark fan “harassed” the Chicago Sky team while walking off the bus. She said he then blocked the women from entering the hotel, while repeatedly calling them “ghetto bitches.”
However, a subsequently released video showed the man in question doing none of that. Put simply, he asked Chennedy Carter if she “had a chance to reach out to Caitlin Clark” after hard-fouling her.
The Sky’s own general manager, Jeff Pagliocca, confirmed a week later that the man had only approached Carter with a camera – as the video shows.
“The man had a camera and was trying to approach guard Chennedy Carter. However, security was able to de-escalate the situation without the assistance of police, general manager Jeff Pagliocca [said],” USA Today reported.
Another race hoax? So it appears.
The Chicago Sky team ignored several requests for comment from OutKick, asking for additional evidence and whether the team stands by Reese’s allegations.
Still, the contradictory evidence didn’t stop the press, other WNBA players, and bitter former players like Sheryl Swoopes from feigning outrage over the incident. They used it as proof that black WNBA players are in danger.
Here’s what an ESPN WNBA writer said following the hoax:
Sure.
But it looks like white, Asian, and Hispanic women also need protection (especially with Joe Biden’s open border). Arielle Chambers has said nothing about Clark this week.
Essentially, Caitlin Clark gets no sympathy for the type of online hate that actually turned dangerous, but the black players are victims because @Joemanthedude69 said something mean about them on X.
It’s all such a lie.
The black women in the WNBA are not victims. Honestly, neither is Caitlin Clark. Online hate and stalking come with the territory of being a public figure. It’s unfortunate, but it’s undoubtedly the reality.
The more famous someone is, the more nasty messages they receive — and the more security they may need. And given that Clark is by far the most famous player in the WNBA, she is likely the target of more rude posts than any other female athlete in America.
In fact, the only reason the likes of Reese, Carrington, and Carter received so much social media attention last summer was that they inserted themselves into the national conversation by picking a fight, often literally, with the biggest star in the sport.
Ultimately, no one ought to be surprised by the silence from the WNBA, the players’ association, and the WNBA sports media. They have already shown themselves to be a bunch of bad-faith, racially obsessed mean girls who can’t stand that a little white girl from Iowa is so popular.
