Predictably, the same crowd that championed Caitlin Clark — using her name, image, and likeness to defend her against a media narrative that never existed — is now turning its back on the Indiana Fever guard.

And it’s all because she dared to speak out.

Clark has been weaponized, or as Sue Bird put it, being “used as a pawn” to advance a racist agenda in the WNBA.

But she hasn’t backed down. As she was named Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year, Clark not only took a stand against some inappropriate line(s) of questioning but also against a larger systemic issue within the league.

“I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” she told Time. “A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. 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.”

It’s not a beautiful thing to Megyn Kelly, though.

The conservative media personality — not to be confused with the Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher, Merrill — responded to an aggregation of Clark’s quotes on X (formerly Twitter) and claimed that Clark was on the knee, all but apologizing for the color of her skin and getting attention because of it.

Look at this. She’s on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention. The self-flagellation. The “oh pls pay attention to the black players who are REALY the ones you want to celebrate.” Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad. https://t.co/cTzk0CTLPn

— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) December 10, 2024

Clark says she recognizes that her Black counterparts, many of whom she looked up to, were never given the same level of attention she is now receiving.

“America was founded on segregation and to this day is very much about Black and White,” Clark’s now-former Fever teammate Temi Fagbenle told Time in a text message. “In a sport dominated by Black/African-American players, White America has rallied around Caitlin Clark. The support looks mostly amazing, sometimes fanatical and territorial, sometimes racist. It seems that the Great White Hope syndrome is at play again.”

Clark doesn’t live in a fantasy world where these issues don’t exist. She’s acutely aware of the dynamics at play, even if others, like Kelly, choose to ignore or dismiss them.

“The self-flagellation. The ‘oh pls pay attention to the black players who are REALY the ones you want to celebrate,’ wrote Kelly. “Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad.”

While Clark has faced criticism for not speaking out enough at times, she’s chosen not to silence herself in the face of backlash, while others hold tightly to their narrow worldview. If that means losing support as she strives to challenge the status quo and amplify voices that have long been overlooked, so be it.

[Time, Megyn Kelly]