Sue Bird reveals how Caitlin Clark is ‘USED’ for racist abuse in WNBA

WNBA legend Sue Bird gave her thoughts on players facing threats from fans who call themselves supporters of Caitlin Clark or Indiana Fever.

Sue Bird reveals how Caitlin Clark is ‘USED’ for racist abuse in WNBA

WNBA legend Sue Bird backs up Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark‘s first season as a professional basketball player ended in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. Despite the Indiana Fever rookie’s debut season coming to an end, the discourse surrounding her has not ceased. The recent uproar from other players about a certain section of Clark’s fans has caught the attention of many, including the legendary Sue Bird.

The four-time WNBA champion sat down with her partner Megan Rapinoe for an episode of their podcast A Touch More. Talking about unruly fans, Sue Bird said that Caitlin Clark was being used as a pawn for people to misbehave.

Racism has been impacting the WNBA well before this year. This is not a new thing. In that way, I think Caitlin is being used as a pawn. Caitlin didn’t bring racism to the WNBA. This has been happening. And that, I think, what’s been a shock for all of us. That other people are surprised by this. We’ve been trying to tell you.

Sue Bird said
YouTube video

Bird, who is also a part owner of the Seattle Storm, revealed that the WNBA has been facing this problem for a long time now. Only because of the increased viewership of the league has the issue become evident to everyone.

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Players who are speaking up on the issue are also not targeting the Rookie of the Year. They are instead calling out the fans who spew their hate towards players. Bird urged the league to sit up, take notice, and control the situation before it got out of hand.

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Caitlin Clark herself slammed unruly fans for threatening her fellow players. However, Sue Bird is aware that her words alone may not be enough to deter fans from continuing their aggressive behavior in the future. This led to the league issuing a statement a few days ago.

The league made it clear that they will take matters into their own hands going forward. To start with, they will continuously monitor the internet and work along with teams and players to identify unruly fans. Moreover, at games, they will be employing increased security to deal with the issue.

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Now that the Indiana Fever rookie’s season is over, the WNBA has time to gather up resources ahead of next season. The league is finally going to make an effort to curb this problem, even bringing in law enforcement if needed.