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It’s a classic case of ‘they hate us cuz they ain’t us.’
No WNBA team has more fans than the Indiana Fever. But no team has more haters, either.
Lexie Hull knows that firsthand.
In a profile for Glamour posted Monday, the Fever guard explained why she believes her team — and especially her teammate Caitlin Clark — have a target on their backs.
“I think there is a level of jealousy when it comes to the Fever, just because of the media attention and the fans that have shown up for us ever since Caitlin got here,” she said. “We’ve heard people and players and teams talking in their locker room about, ‘We can’t let the Fever win.’”
Lexie Hull says teams are jealous of the fanfare and media attention surrounding the Fever since Caitlin Clark arrived.
(Photo by Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
When Clark was selected No. 1 by Indiana in the 2024 WNBA Draft, she brought to the league unprecedented coverage and popularity. Over the past two seasons, the WNBA has exploded, shattering records for attendance, viewership and merchandise sales. Thanks to what’s been dubbed the “Caitlin Clark Effect,” the league also secured a $2.2 billion media rights deal in July 2024 that is set to kick in next season.
But not everyone was enthusiastic about a newcomer suddenly becoming the face of the league.Â
Some of women’s basketball’s biggest names, like Sheryl Swoopes and Cheryl Reeve, publicly downplayed Clark’s accomplishments. Other coaches, players and fans complained that the Fever received a disproportionate amount of hype and media coverage compared to the rest of the league. And some players even physically went after Clark on the court, issuing hard fouls and hip checks — often without a whistle.
But Hull isn’t sweating it. In fact, she says bring it on.
“If you have extra motivation to beat us because of something out of our control, that’s fine, if that’s what it takes for you guys to come and try extra hard,” she says. “I think a little bit of that is needed across the league…. Everyone should feel like they’re getting everyone else’s best, and I do feel like we get everyone else’s best.”
Hull — who helped carry a banged-up Fever team to this year’s WNBA semifinals — was one of five WNBA players honored in Glamour’s “Women of the Year” series, alongside Napheesa Collier, Jonquel Jones, and sisters Nyara and Satou Sabally.
