"Caitlin Clark bends the knee" - Jason Whitlock drops blunt reaction to Fever superstar's plea for Black WNBA players

Indiana Fever superstar and reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark was named TIME Magazine's Athlete of the Year. However, sports analyst Jason Whitlock wasn't happy with Clark's comments about the racial conundrum in the league.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Whitlock shared a part of Clark's exclusive interview with TIME Magazine. He wasn't fond of the Fever guard's plea to help elevate the status of Black players.

"Caitlin Clark bends the knee. Kissing the rear of black women is a rite of passage in the WNBA," Whitlock tweeted.

While Caitlin Clark brought a lot of eyes to the WNBA in her rookie season, some members of her fanbase were toxic, mostly online. Some players weren't happy with the abuse they were getting, but it went both ways.

There were fans who weren't happy with Clark's rise to stardom and attributed it to her "privilege." It wasn't a pretty sight, with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert failing to address the issue.

In her interview with TIME Magazine, Clark addressed the racial tensions among fans while also acknowledging that the league needs to promote more Black players who deserve the spotlight.

"A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players," Clark said.

"This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that's going to be a beautiful thing."

Previous winners of the TIME Magazine Athlete of the Year are the USWNT, LeBron James, Simone Biles, Aaron Judge and Lionel Messi.

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Caitlin Clark on the adjustments she made from college to WNBA

Caitlin Clark on the adjustments she made from college to WNBA. (Photo: IMAGN)

In the same interview with TIME Magazine, Caitlin Clark was asked about the adjustments she had to make from Iowa to the Indiana Fever. Clark barely had time to process things, as she was drafted less than a week after her collegiate career ended.

"I love women's college basketball," Clark said. "But if you go back and watch the way people guarded me in college, it's almost, like, concerning. They didn't double me, they didn't trap me, they weren't physical. And it's hard."

Clark struggled early on before making the necessary changes to her game and went on to have one of the greatest rookie seasons in WNBA history. She won the Rookie of the Year award and came in fourth in the MVP voting.