Jason Whitlock Says Caitlin Clark Is Doing Too Much

It looks like Caitlin Clark will have to find a new defender. No, not on the court, opposing teammates can handle that. But in the media. Controversial podcast host Jason Whitlock, who was run out of ESPN and Fox, has taken on the WNBA in the past based on his disdain for the league and particularly its majority Black, female, lesbian players.

This week, he offered criticism of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark. Clark has drawn controversy since her debut in the league as the number one pick in 2024. Her fans have used her as a cudgel to insult, diminish and denigrate other WNBA players, particularly Black ones.

If a hard pick is set or a basketball-related foul knocks Clark to the floor, her stans head to social media to complain about “thugs” and talk about how they are damaging the game, along with the referees.

The latest controversy involved Phoenix Mercury player Alyssa Thomas, well-known throughout the league for her physical style of play. In a game last week, when Thomas went for the ball while Clark was on the ground, a freeze frame showed Thomas using her balled fist to leverage herself up from where she’d fallen over Clark.

The freeze frame made it look as though she’d deliberately dug her fist into Clark’s neck. But normal-speed replays showed neither player reacted, with both almost instantly returning to the flow of the game.

But when the furor picked up on social media after the slowed-down clip went viral, Thomas was assessed a flagrant foul 2 and suspended one game for “reckless contact.” From that point on, the Mercury star says she was harassed and threatened on social media.

Nine days after the controversy, Clark shared her thoughts about it.

“As I’ve stood here and said before, the harassment, the hate, none of that is OK,” Clark told the media during practice. “That goes for the opposing team we play. That goes for my teammates. That goes for my coaches. There should never be a question of character.”

But she also said that she believes that the postgame foul and suspension were accurately applied.

“I don’t really think it was up for debate,” and added, “I did think it was a flagrant foul.”

But on multiple posts and on his podcast, Whitlock says that Clark is going after the refs way too much. He showed a clip where Clark, who has missed several games due to a sore back, came off the bench in street clothes to argue with a ref.

He also said that Clark taking nine days to respond to the post-game foul was too long.

“I’m rooting for Caitlin. Her story is fun to watch. However, she took 9 days to comment on a situation involving her. Nine days is a lot of prep time. Her message was the refs missed a call and the media discussed her in a way she didn’t like. Control what you can control. She can’t control the refs or the media,” he posted.

He believes that the refs are a “soft target” and that the real problem is Fever coach Stephanie White.

Earlier this week, Whitlock doubled down on Clark becoming an adversary for the refs.

“No one needs to hear from Caitlin Clark,” Whitlock says. “But she has this obsession with pissing on the referees. He adds, “And when people like me say hey, you’re pissing on people below you, with less power, they’re the voiceless, they’re the marginalized, and you’re publicly pissing on them, and you wonder why they don’t officiate in your favor, when you’re constantly berating them and showing them up? They’re no mystery here.”

Welp, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Whitlock says he “loves” Clark, though, so we’ll see where this goes next time someone dishes out a hard foul.