‘Why Is Caitlin Clark on This List?’, ‘Ridiculous’ — Outrage Erupts As New TV Show Lumps Fever Star With Aaron Rodgers, Jake Paul, Other ‘Hated’ Athletes
· Yahoo Sports
Caitlin Clark has helped raise the WNBA’s profile, driving increased ticket sales and game viewership while setting countless records with her electric playmaking and seemingly limitless range.
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Still, the Indiana Fever guard remains a frequent target of vitriol from both her peers and onlookers, with her unprecedented WNBA media coverage placing her at the forefront of most hot-button issues around the league.
As the three-time All-Star wraps up a career-best third season, she has now been lumped with some of sports’ most “polarizing figures” in an upcoming docuseries, sparking fierce pushback.
WNBA World Takes Issue With Caitlin Clark’s Inclusion in ‘Hated’ Athlete Docuseries
Criticism of Clark largely stems from her taking women’s basketball by storm coming out of college as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and being hailed as the league’s “savior.”
The 24-year-old has widely been given the lion’s share of credit for fueling the WNBA’s recent surge over more established stars like four-time MVP A’ja Wilson. Meanwhile, some have brought race into the equation.
Clark’s rabid fanbase has also become a point of contention, including an outspoken contingent of right-wing supporters.
Even so, aside from voicing her frustrations with officials, Clark has generally kept her opinions to herself and sought to avoid wading into political discussions. This makes her inclusion in Vice TV’s upcoming anthology docuseries “Everybody Hates” all the more perplexing to many WNBA viewers.
Per Variety, “the show goes behind the scenes on polarizing figures in the sports world, with each episode profiling a different athlete.”
“Rather than asking whether these athletes deserve the hate they receive, ‘Everybody Hates’ asks a different question: How did they become the people millions love, millions hate, and almost everyone has an opinion about?” the show’s description reads.
Clark will be featured in the six-episode series along with Jake Paul, Aaron Rodgers, Michael Vick, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Floyd Mayweather Jr., with the show debuting on Oct. 27.
Set to be released on Nov. 10, Clark’s episode is described as follows:
“She propelled women’s basketball into the mainstream, but why do people hate her? Sports influencer Rachel A. DeMita, journalist Jemele Hill, and more dive deeper on her fiery personality and the media chatter around her.”
Upon seeing Clark listed alongside several of sports’ most divisive names, some of whom have been embroiled in legal trouble, the WNBA world promptly objected.
“Putting Caitlin Clark in this group is ridiculous,” basketball reporter Ashley Nicole Moss asserted.
“Why is Caitlin Clark on this list? Everybody doesn’t hate Caitlin Clark, a ‘certain group’ of people who don’t matter, hates her for literally saving the WNBA, and also because it wasn’t one of their own who did it,” one fan questioned.
“So, the worst thing a woman can do is being passionate and competitive for her to be in the same lineup with these awful disgusting men? Got it,” another fumed.
“A bunch of guys that all have very real reasons to dislike them and then a girl from Iowa who is really good at basketball lol,” one X user quipped.
“The double standard for women is [expletive] mind-boggling,” another wrote.
However, DeMita did her best to ease the backlash.
“I sat down for a 3-hour interview for this docuseries last year (title hadn’t yet been revealed). Interested to see how the edit turns out! And spoiler alert: Everybody does not hate Caitlin Clark. Including me :),” DeMita tweeted.
Clark and Co. are gearing up for the playoffs, securing a critical 96-77 home win over the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday to improve to 28-15. They sit fifth in the WNBA with one outing remaining: a road rematch against Minnesota on Thursday.
While all eyes are currently on Indiana’s late-season form, Clark’s episode of “Everybody Hates” will air after the postseason concludes, setting the stage for some intriguing offseason content.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.