Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever during the game against the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 24, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Gas and groceries feel more expensive than ever, and our country is at war. Thankfully, a Texas Congressman is weighing in on the defining issue of our time: Whether other WNBA players are being too mean to Caitlin Clark.
On Wednesday, Rep. August Pfluger (R-San Angelo) announced that he was leading a group of 11 other Republican lawmakers in calling for “greater accountability following repeated acts of physical violence” against Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark. Indiana Reps. Erin Houchin, Marlin Stutzman and Victoria Spartz were among the signees, as was Pfluger’s Texas colleague Rep. Pete Sessions.
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“Clark has been hip-checked, poked in the eye and struck in the throat during games,” Pfluger’s letter reads. “These incidents go far beyond routine physical play, yet the WNBA and its officiating have too often failed to address these unacceptable incidents and hold players accountable.”
Pfluger said that if WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert does not take action to protect Clark, the federal government may get involved.
“I’m putting the league on notice that if it keeps letting the violent targeting slide, they could find themselves facing a DOJ and EEOC crackdown for violating federal civil rights law,” Pfluger wrote on X.
Why, exactly, are not one but two congressmen from Texas, which crucially is not in Indiana, complaining about Clark supposedly being roughed up? Because on the right, Clark in the WNBA has become something of a cause célèbre. An incident almost a month ago is just the latest.
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In a June 24, 111-109 Indiana Fever loss to the Phoenix Mercury, Mercury power forward Alyssa Thomas landed on Clark, pushed her fist into Clark’s throat, and stepped over her as she tried to grab a loose ball. No foul was called, but upon review the WNBA gave Thomas a flagrant-2 foul, fined her $1,000 and suspended her for a game for “recklessly making contact” with Clark’s throat. Clark looked shaken after the play.
Alyssa Thomas #25 of the Phoenix Mercury and Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever get into a scuffle during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 22, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Michael Hickey/Getty Images
“Caitlin Clark has transformed women’s basketball”
But the Thomas-Clark incident has become, kind of bizarrely, another grievance on the right, though it’s not just conservatives. Part of this is that when the Fever drafted Clark in 2024, the league saw a massive influx of fans who were dazzled by her play at Iowa. Many then started following Clark to the WNBA, becoming WNBA fans, which is great. Clark is certainly one reason the WNBA has seen so much growth. But among a type of person that really only follows Clark, she’s the one reason.
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In many of the Clark-or-bust boosters’ telling, Clark is basically the only reason that the WNBA is having any modicum of success or that players are getting a salary boost, and other players are jealous. So jealous are these players, like Alyssa Thomas, that they are trying to kill Caitlin Clark. And the WNBA is doing nothing! Nothing!
One of the Republicans angry with the WNBA, Missouri Rep. Mark Alford, gave a statement to USA Today that’s illustrative. Alford told USA Today that “Caitlin Clark has transformed women’s basketball and inspired a new generation, while getting hammered for it with no accountability.”
That echoes language from USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, who is one of Clark’s biggest boosters and is writing a book about Clark. She wrote after the Thomas-Clark incident that “Clark is getting pummeled on a regular basis and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert—who was given the greatest gift, in Clark, any women’s sports commissioner has ever received—has done precious little about it.”
But if that’s all, if she’s just getting pummeled by players jealous of her success, how are her civil rights being violated? It’s simple: Clark is white, Thomas isn’t (like most WNBA players). Again, Pfluger is illustrative here, writing that he’s worried “attacks against Clark may be racially motivated.” Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett said Clark was getting the “thug treatment.” One viral X post claims Black players “are beating her because they are anti-white and they hate she’s better than them.”
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The irony here is that in the wake of the foul, Thomas faced racist comments (which Clark condemned). But pointing out the irony doesn’t really matter for Pfluger or the other legions of Clark fans, or people who don’t even really care about the WNBA but love to talk and argue about it anyway. To these people, the WNBA, and women’s sports as a whole, is this ridiculous product that nobody even watches. The WNBA only began to exist in earnest when Clark was drafted and should be doing everything it can to make her happy, up to and including declaring war on any player who looks at her the wrong way.
In this view, the WNBA becomes a place for you to project your grievances on race and gender. A league that’s Blacker and gayer than any major other sports league becomes respectable only because a White player from the heartland deigned to lend it credibility. Is the Department of Justice, or the EEOC, which is now focused mostly on “anti-white discrimination,” really going to do anything? Probably not. But Republicans like Pfluger, who are mostly anonymous otherwise, can get a lot out of making some noise.