ESPN’s Moncia McNutt is back in the spotlight, this time for calling out WNBA star Caitlin Clark.
A month after drawing fans’ ire for criticizing Taylor Swift for being courtside at the NBA Finals, McNutt, 36, took issue with the Indiana Fever guard’s message during an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews. During the interview, Clark, 24, said she “shouldn’t be fearful” of what the media conversation around her will be after every game.
“I thought the choice, the word of being ‘fearful’ of the conversation… is interesting,” McNutt said during an on-air segment on Sunday, July 26. “Because oftentimes, it seems… it’s the folks that are accused [of] doing something outside of the parameters of competition that are actually the ones that are fearful, when you look at their social medias.”
McNutt seems to be referring to players like Alyssa Thomas, who received death threats online after she used her fist to make contact with Clark’s throat during a game. Thomas, 34, received a one-game suspension for her actions, which she insisted were not intentional.
“This is what I will say.Caitlin Clark is 24. She’s a shining star in the galaxy of the WNBA,” McNutt continued. “But I do think, as she continues to matriculate through this league, there’s room for a little bit more accountability and self-awareness, in terms of her role in the larger sisterhood, if she sees it that way in the WNBA.”
While Clark’s fans predictably blasted McNutt for her comment, which still managed to heap praise on the third-year pro, controversy has seemed to follow Clark. Her full comments came in response to the Thomas situation, where Clark understandably seemed frustrated with the nonstop talk.
“It seems like there’s always a moment like that in every season that I’ve played so far,” she told Andrews, 31. “And I think, for myself, I just try to navigate it the best I can. It gets exhausting. It gets frustrating, because I think especially — that’s a perfect example of, yeah, it was a hard foul, and it should’ve been dealt with in the moment, and it should’ve decided what it was then and reviewed it. Great. We move on.”
Clark continued, “When I walk out of the locker room, I shouldn’t be, not fearful of what the conversation is going to be. But it’s emotionally exhausting. It’s draining.”
Clark has found support from those who might know best what she is dealing with. Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, whose legacy has been linked to Clark since the pair entered college together in 2020, defended her last month, saying Clark “handles it with grace.”
“The pressure she’s put on every single night to perform at the level that she does, it’s inhumane, really,” said Bueckers, 24. “Like to expect people to be perfect and not have off games or? off nights. If she doesn’t go like 8 for 10 from three, people are questioning things.”
“It’s just unfair to have to deal with that,” she continued. “But I am sure that she has a great team around her and great people to help her. And I know she’s a great person at dealing with it, just tuning out the noise and just [continuing] to be there for herself and for her team. But I mean the expectations, it’s tough when you listen to it.”
