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Caitlin Clark has been bringing unprecedented attention to women’s basketball over the past three years. Clark’s massive following while still with Iowa turned into an even bigger throng once she played in the WNBA. While she has a mind-boggling fan base, she also has her fair share of critics.
Some of the criticisms were valid, but others were purely out of bounds. Sofia Ruffin opened up about hating on the Indiana Fever superstar:
“Hating on a person is real because they’re good. I’m just gonna admit that I was a Caitlin Clark hater that turned into a fan. I was only hating on her skills at that time because she was going up against my favorite team.
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“Our favorite, just across the board, is South Carolina. And then the year that she knocked them out of the championship game, it was like, ‘Aw, nah.’”
In 2023, the Hawkeyes beat South Carolina 77-73 in the Final Four. Clark exploded for 41 points behind 15-for-31 shooting. She added eight assists and six rebounds to push Iowa to the national championship game against Angel Reese’s LSU.
The converted Caitlin Clark critic admitted changing allegiances from South Carolina to LSU just to see Clark lose. Sofia Ruffin likely got some measure of revenge after the Reese-led Tigers won the title following a 102-85 win over the Hawkeyes.
Ruffin changed her view when she realized that Clark had “lived up to the hype.”
Fans react to Sophia Ruffin’s admission of hating Caitlin Clark
Any news about Caitlin Clark usually causes a buzz on social media. When somebody admits hating on the WNBA All-Star, that news promptly earned reactions:
“I don’t even mind if they hate her, that’s fine. But just admit she’s good. Like I dislike Aja Wilson so much for no particular reason. But I can admit she’s one hella of a basketball player.”
One fan said:
“See I can respect this,l. Hating a played for knocking you team out I understand that. But same time acknowledge the skills that person has and knowing how good they are. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.”
Another fan added:
“hating on her SKILLS? Thats the most embarrassing thing to say as a basketball fan EVER”
@kinggswag201 continued:
“Nothing wrong with this she was blind but now she sees the light”
@Gatorspeak reacted:
“She won them over. A good thing.”
Fans becoming critics and vice versa are par for the course in every sport. Many mostly remain loyal, while others are unbending in their criticism. Fan opinion is a big part of the sporting world.
Caitlin Clark just happens to be so popular that everything about her is often blown out of proportion. When the next WNBA season starts, expect the intensity of the banter among fans to heat up.
