Everyone is Upset With ESPN’s Candid Caitlin Clark Shot at the Lakers Game

The rookie sensation. The elite shooter. The ‘golden goose’ of women’s basketball. Call Caitlin Clark whatever you want, but one thing’s for sure, she’s basketball’s favorite. Seriously, try finding hate for her online. You’d have to dig deep. And you know what people especially love…her sideline antics. She’s got that perfect mix of locked-in competitor and pure fangirl energy, which is exactly why we eat it up every time she pops up courtside. And she’s been doing a lot of that this offseason.

She was at it again on Wednesday. Except this time, fans weren’t exactly thrilled about it. Clark, alongside her boyfriend Connor McCaffery, returned to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to watch the Pacers take on the Lakers. A pretty big matchup, too. The Lakers desperately trying to stay afloat, the Pacers rolling in with seven wins in their last eight games. And in the end, the Lakers walked away with the W.

Now, Clark hitting up games isn’t new. In the last few months, we’ve seen her courtside at plenty of college matchups—cheering on her Iowa squad or pulling up to Butler to support McCaffery, who’s an assistant coach there. 

But this time, it was an NBA game, and obviously, it had to be for her own franchise.

For McCaffery, it was a little full-circle moment. Before taking the Butler job, he was actually working with the Pacers, so being back at Gainbridge had to feel pretty familiar. Oh, and by the way, it wasn’t just a Caitlin-and-Connor outing—her Fever teammate Lexie Hull and Hull’s boyfriend, Will Matthiessen, were sitting right in front of them. 

A little double date courtside. Sounds fun, right?

Well… fans didn’t really think so. Because that’s not what got people talking. Instead, ESPN caught Clark in a candid moment. Head down, scrolling through her phone, looking, well… bored. And let’s just say, people did not take it well.

Social media went off, calling her out for not paying attention to the game. Some were just surprised—after all, we’re used to seeing Clark fired up, reacting to every big play. Others were genuinely mad about it, feeling like she was being disrespectful to the sport.

Fans sound off on Caitlin Clark

“Maybe she should get off her phone,” one fan quipped. And this was surprising because, Clark isn’t even a phone addict. While fans love getting content about her, she’s not exactly the one posting 24/7. She’s even said before that while she has an X account, she doesn’t have the app on her phone. TikTok, she has, but the last time she posted was April 2—back when she was still balling out for Iowa. 

So, seeing her on the phone mid-game definitely caught some folks off guard. Another fan jumped in, saying, “Oh hello there. Is she texting or scrolling through her social media feeds? Is the game that boring?” We know that there isn’t a single player in the league with a bigger spotlight than Clark. Every little thing she does, fans and media are right there watching. 

But that’s never stopped her from doing her thing, whether it’s yelling at refs during an Iowa game or hyping up Butler from the stands. So maybe she was sending an important text, or maybe the camera just caught her at the worst possible moment. “She is so bored,” a third chimed in.  But that can’t happen because the game was anything but boring.

Both teams were trading threes like it was a shootout, Luka Doncic was on fire, and the Lakers had the lead before losing it, only for LeBron to save the day with a clutch tip-in. So, yes, maybe Clark had a neutral face for a second, but the game had everyone locked in. 

Then there was the sarcastic take: “Clearly excited for the game.” CC is usually the type who is super hyped to watch hoops. Just recently, she watched her Hawkeyes dominate Wisconsin by 27, take down Michigan State, and then barely lose to Ohio State. And not to forget her double-duty basketball marathon—first at Butler’s senior night against Xavier, then rushing back to catch the end of Iowa’s win. 

So, that’s how thrilled she is usually for this game of basketball. And finally, someone pointed out, “Notice how she puts the phone down when the whistle blows and the game starts back up…” So, maybe, just maybe, she was only checking it when there was no action on the court? Sounds a lot more like Caitlin, doesn’t it?

Whatever the case, this was just one of those rare moments where people had something to say about Clark that wasn’t pure praise. But it doesn’t change the fact that she’s a die-hard basketball fan through and through. The woman lives and breathes basketball, for crying out loud.