The Indiana Fever will begin a new chapter next season after the hiring of Stephanie White as coach.
The return of the White, who also called the shots for the Fever from 2015 to 2016, will be another transition for superstar Caitlin Clark. She will play for her second coach in two seasons.
After a stellar rookie year, where she silenced her critics and led Indiana to the playoffs, the 22-year-old Clark will be expected to carry more pressure and avoid the so-called sophomore slump.
With her increasing popularity, Clark will bring more fans to the Fever and the WNBA as a whole.
New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones, however, pointed out a certain issue about Clark’s fans.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark drives past New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones.
Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
“A lot of the Caitlin Clark fans, I think they want to latch on to Caitlin Clark and then use her as, I guess, this fuel to be the way they want it to be,” said Jones on “The Pivot Podcast.”
“I think that’s why there was such a big backlash when she liked the whole Taylor Swift post, saying vote for Kamala Harris, because they want her to be the representation of their racism and their view on the world, and she’s not like that.”
Clark has publicly condemned racism. In September, she joined other players in calling out those who spread hate, saying no one in the WNBA deserves verbal abuse.
The 30-year-old Jones, who helped the Liberty win their first-ever championship, stressed that people should be more discerning about how they view Clark.
“I don’t think it’s the Fever fans, I think it’s the people that wanted Caitlin Clark to be a certain type of way, and they thought that she was, and so they became Caitlin Clark fans (after) assuming that,” added the Finals MVP.
“And then they realized that, ‘Oh no, she’s actually not racist.’ So now, they have to kind of backtrack and try to find somebody else that can kind of embody the things that they feel.”
