Caitlin Clark is a generational talent. There’s no doubt about that. Even though she barely played last season due to injury, Clark’s star power and magnetism were the key reasons the WNBA continued to grow in audience, sell more tickets, move more jerseys, and improve financially.

So why does it seem like the WNBA is determined to destroy the career of the player who, let’s be honest, saved it from mediocrity? Clark plays for the Indiana Fever, but every other team in the league would love to have her. A talent like Clark’s shouldn’t be wasted.

Can Clark be criticized? Of course. She has plenty of so-called “areas for improvement,” and there’s no question she still needs to develop parts of her game. But that’s very different from what happens when she has a bad game—like her most recent one against the Golden State Valkyries—and social media fills with hate directed at her.

But that is exactly what the WNBA and the extreme fandom of many pseudo-fans seem to be creating.

Caitlin Clark isn’t perfect

While Clark is a superstar in her own right, she doesn’t do everything perfectly. At times she forces too many long-range shots and, above all, she has struggled with turnovers.

A recent stat makes that clear: In 20 of the 59 games she has played in the WNBA, she has recorded more turnovers than made field goals. That’s a very high percentage. Every turnover can potentially become points for the opponent, so having that many games with more turnovers than made baskets is a real issue.

She also needs to improve defensively. Against the Valkyries, Clark was targeted over and over again, and the opponent scored 28 points while attacking her defensively. She needs to improve her technique on that end because opponents know she’s vulnerable there and will continue to attack her. She also needs to continue building strength and physical power.

Whose fault is it: Clark’s or her coaches’?

Clark is 24 years old. She entered the league at 22 in 2024 and immediately changed the WNBA, breaking historic records left and right—especially offensive ones in scoring and assists. 

And she continues to do so. So who is responsible when she has one or several bad games, or when her production occasionally falls short of her potential?

The answer lies with her coaches

When Clark arrived in Indiana, her coach was Christie Sides, who took over a struggling team and, with Clark’s arrival, made it more competitive. It was a process. But the Fever and Sides parted ways right after Clark’s first season.

Then came Stephanie White, a coach viewed as a defensive-minded leader who was expected to improve the Fever defensively and, in theory, adapt the system to maximize Clark’s skills. But last year Clark was only available for 13 games, making it nearly impossible for White to fully implement anything.

This year the season is still young, but it doesn’t look like White is doing much to elevate Clark’s game. Every great star has had a great coach beside them—someone who pushes them, teaches them, and helps unlock the best version of them. White doesn’t appear to be that coach.

So how is Caitlin Clark supposed to improve without someone guiding that growth? White uses her like a car trying to drive with the parking brake on. And it becomes especially noticeable against more defensive teams like the Valkyries.

The other major issue: officiating and racism

It’s no secret that WNBA officiating has been heavily criticized. There are countless videos online showing Clark being hit with hard fouls that go uncalled. Meanwhile, Clark frequently gets called for technical fouls that, in many cases, she arguably didn’t commit. There doesn’t seem to be consistency. At times it feels like there’s a narrative within the WNBA that paints Clark in a negative light.

And that brings in another controversial element: race.

Broadly speaking, the WNBA is often perceived as a league with a large number of Black players and LGBTQ+ athletes. Clark is straight, white, went to school in Iowa, has a boyfriend, and lives what many would describe as a very conventional life.

Yet on the court, it sometimes feels like she is disliked precisely because of that. There have been Black players speaking negatively about her, former players, and former coaches criticizing both what she does on the court and off it.

In her rookie year, the WNBA benefited enormously from the rivalry—dating back to college—between Clark and Angel Reese, a young Black star from her generation who entered the league with the Chicago Sky. Matchups between the two shattered viewership records. Last year, after Clark’s injury, much of that momentum faded.

Reese is strong defensively, but she has also built a reputation for an outspoken and confident personality dating back to college, which has earned her plenty of critics. Some argue she has focused more on making money, hosting podcasts, appearing in magazines, and showcasing her image on social media than on basketball itself. The result: she was traded from Chicago to Atlanta and has yet to become the superstar many expected.

Finally, much of the criticism aimed at Caitlin Clark on social media comes from women—many of them Black women—or members of the LGBTQ+ community. At times, it seems Clark’s biggest “offense” is simply being herself, being highly talented, and not fitting neatly into narratives that have been pushed not only in sports but across society more broadly.

The question is: does any of this make sense?

Hating a player for being talented, avoiding controversy, having occasional bad games, or simply living a normal life says more about us as a society than it does about her.

The baseless hatred toward Caitlin Clark—toward any player, toward any person—needs to end. And it needs to end now.