CNN commentators call Republican support for Caitlin Clark race-driven

Republican congressional interest in Caitlin Clark, and the WNBA's handling of physical play against the Indiana Fever guard, is racially motivated, CNN anchor Abby Phillip argued during a panel appearance this week on "Table for Five." Former ESPN broadcaster Cari Champion, also on the panel, agreed, calling a congressional letter sent to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert "really, really disrespectful." Clark has separately told the league it needs to do a better job protecting its players.

What Phillip and Champion argued

Phillip said the attention Clark receives from Republican lawmakers and from government "seems to be exclusively because she is White." Champion replied: "That's the only reason."

Champion framed hard physical play as a feature of the sport, not an aberration directed at Clark. "What has been happening to Caitlin has been happening since the inception of the WNBA. These women play tough. They play hard. It's sports," she said. She suggested the lawmakers are probably more fan of Clark personally than of the sport or of the Indiana Fever as an institution.

She also cited league demographics directly. Seventy percent of players in the WNBA are LGBTQIA and Black, Champion said, which makes the sudden congressional attention feel to those players like a question of "why now." Framing the issue as a new problem, she argued, leaves out a long history of Black women who "supported this league and started this league."

The congressional letter

Members of Congress wrote to Commissioner Engelbert citing what they described as "repeated acts of unnecessary physical hostility and violence" against Clark, who the letter identifies as "the face of your league." The lawmakers told Engelbert she has a responsibility to ensure every player competes "in a safe and professional environment, both on and off the court, free from violence, discrimination, or retaliation."

The letter raised the prospect of federal involvement. If discrimination or retaliation is occurring and creating a hostile work environment, the signatories wrote, they support any appropriate investigation by the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Such conduct, they said, could constitute violations of federal civil rights laws.

The letter closed by saying the league has an opportunity to inspire the next generation of female athletes, but that the opportunity is undermined when its brightest stars are not adequately protected.

What to watch

Clark has already applied her own pressure on the WNBA, saying publicly that the league needs to do better at protecting players on and off the court. A formal response from Commissioner Engelbert to the congressional letter is the next confirmable development.