Travis Kelce’s ex Kayla Nicole makes feelings clear on Caitlin Clark’s ‘white privilege' controversy - "Racist, sexist nonsense”

Travis Kelce's ex-girlfriend and sports analyst Kayla Nicole had a lengthy response to people criticizing Caitlin Clark's words about her alleged white privilege. During her interview with TIME as the 2024 Athlete of the Year, the Indiana Fever star paid respect to the players who came before her and urged fans to give more recognition to black women in the league.

During Tuesday's episode of "I AM ATHLETE DAILY," Nicole reacted to Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson's comments about Clark, defending the young guard for standing up for her colleagues even when she was the one being celebrated.

"What Caitlin Clark did at this moment was what we've been asking her to do all season, which is really stand on the reality of the nature of the league right now, which is there is a lot of racist, sexist nonsense that really has no place in this league.

"And for Caitlin Clark to call out specifically white privilege, I really commend her, because it takes a lot of guts for you to take your moment and say, 'You know what? I know that I'm here but a lot of people had to come before me and there's a lot of growth that needs to happen from this moment on and after me in order for this league to be the best league that it possibly can be, so I commend Caitlin Clark," Nicole said. (53:16 mark)

While some people have attacked Clark for her words, others have been supportive. Nicole joined the likes of Stephen A. Smith and Sue Bird, to name a few, in clapping back to Clark's new haters.

Kayla Nicole discusses how colleagues might treat Caitlin Clark after rookie season

Kayla Nicole also talked about how Caitlin Clark could be perceived by her peers after her rookie season and her words about black women in the league.

"I think this puts a target on her back, like greatness is greatness and I don't think that's something she should shy away from. I think she has to own it the same way that Angel [Reese] owns it. She's said, if "I have to be the villain of the league, I'll be the villain." I think it comes with a territory so I hope she doesn't let it affect her in one way or another," Nicole said. (1:02:18 mark)

Clark was expected to mark an era in the WNBA and she's off to a tumultuous but entertaining start.