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In her interview after being named TIME Athlete of the Year, WNBA star Caitlin Clark spoke about having white privilege and need to elevate Black women in her sport. This apparently rubbed podcast host Megyn Kelly the wrong way.
“I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players,” Clark said in the TIME interview.
“This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important.”
Megyn Kelly, after seeing Caitlin Clark’s quote on X (Twitter), responded negatively, writing, “Look at this. She’s on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention. The self-flagellation. The ‘oh pls pay attention to the Black players who are REALLY the ones you want to celebrate.’ Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad.”
Wednesday night at the 2024 A Year in TIME dinner, Clark was on stage being interviewed by NBC Sports host Maria Taylor when she was asked about Megyn Kelly’s comments.
“I feel like I always have had good perspective on everything that’s kind of happened in my life, whether that’s been good, whether that’s been bad and then obviously coming to the WNBA,” Clark replied. “Like I said, I feel like I’ve earned every single thing that’s happened to me over the course of my career, but I also I grew up a fan of this league from a very young age.
“My favorite player was Maya Moore. I know what this league was about… it’s only been around 25-plus years, and so I know there has been so many amazing Black women that have been in this league. And continuing to uplift them is very important and that’s something I’m very aware of.”
“I try to just be real and authentic and share my truth and I think that’s very easy for me,” Caitlin Clark added. “I’m very comfortable in my own skin and that’s kind of how it’s been my entire life.
“I think I have good perspective on that… I feel like one of my best skills is just blocking things out. The only opinions I really care about are the people I love, my teammates, my coaches, the people inside our locker room, the people I see every single day and I know have my best interest at heart. I think my best skill is just blocking out the noise and hopefully it continues to be. Because with the way things are going and the way the WNBA is going, you want that attention and you embrace it and that’s what makes this so fun.”