Jemele Hill weighs in on Caitlin Clark's award after labeling Fever star's race and sexuality 'problematic'

Caitlin Clark's latest milestone has caused a lot of back-and-forths on social media, from fans attacking the Washington Mystics owner for downplaying her achievement to sports commentators Jemele Hill and Riley Gaines locking horns over the player's comments on race playing a role in her success.

Hill showed respect to Clark in a clip from her show "Above the Fold" that Uninterrupted shared on Friday.

"Congratulations to Caitlin Clark who is the TIME Magazine 2024 Athlete of the Year," she said. Well-deserved honor after Clark made history in college, finishing as the all-time leading scorer, and then carrying that momentum into the WNBA, where she won Rookie of the Year and led the Indiana Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016."

She then encouraged people to read the TIME piece because it's "extremely revealing."

Before that, Hill clashed with Riley Gaines this week over their perception of Clark and how their narratives changed during the season. It all started when Gaines questioned Clark's comments about having "white privilege" during her interview with TIME as she was named the 2024 Athlete of the Year.

"No one was asking for Caitlin Clark to position herself as a right-wing hero. All she needed to do was remain neutral. She’s a phenom who inspires countless young girls to play & achieve, so I still have great admiration for her, but she missed the mark on this one," Gaines tweeted on Wednesday.

Hill clapped back at those comments by saying she only supported Caitlin Clark until she showed appreciation for black players.

Riley responded by bringing up an article where Hill said Clark's race and sexuality were "problematic."

"This you? Saying Caitlin Clark's race and sexuality make her "problematic" ????Clark isn't the problem. She's the solution. Being a long-standing professional race baiter must be SO exhausting," Gaines said.

What did Caitlin Clark say about her "white privilege"?

During her interview with TIME Magazine, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft discussed how her race played a role in her rise to stardom. She said that she worked hard for everything she had, but added that she had privilege by being a white woman.

She also paid respect to Black players in the league.

“There’s been so many amazing Black women that have been in this league, and continuing to uplift them is very important,” she said, “and that's something I’m very aware of.”

This has been a common conversation surrounding the former Iowa Hawkeyes star, but as Shannon Sharpe said a couple of months ago, uplifting Clark doesn't mean people are overlooking the players who paved the way for her.