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Make no bones about it. Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is disproportionately targeted by opposing WNBA teams when it comes to hard fouls, and it’s part of the reason Clark has played in just half of her team’s games this season.
Indiana has been able to tread water without Clark. But the issue is reaching critical mass for the WNBA, which has seen ratings drop dramatically without the league’s biggest star healthy.
Now, a former White House staffer is calling for the federal government to step in to protect Clark, whether she wants the help or not.
Former White House Staffer Says Caitlin Clark’s Civil Rights Are Being Violated
Sean McLean, who served as a White House adviser at the end of Donald Trump’s first stint in office, penned an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal calling on the government to step in and protect Clark from a “hostile environment.”
“The league has fostered a hostile workplace for Ms. Clark through excessive fouling, targeting, and hostile comments from other players and owners,” McLean claims. “These aren’t isolated—they’re documented, continuing and ignored by officials. The disparity in treatment invites real scrutiny. Not a single player has been suspended for flagrantly fouling Ms. Clark.”
McLean goes on to cite several Supreme Court cases that he feels paralleled Clark’s situation. He also contends that the scope of Clark’s treatment is larger than that of a typical young star athlete entering a professional league.
Ultimately, McLean feels that if the league won’t properly protect Clark, the government has to.
“Ms. Clark’s targeting may reflect a culture of disparate treatment, and the evidence provides reasonable cause for a federal probe into potential civil-rights violations,” he writes. “This would mirror the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation into Dearica Hamby’s pregnancy discrimination claims against the WNBA and her team. Congress and the Labor and Justice departments would be justified in examining the facts.”
Sean McLean’s View Of The Caitlin Clark Situation Is Ridiculous
This is, of course, an absolutely bogus view of things. Clark would tell you as much herself. She most certainly does not want the federal government meddling in the WNBA.
If anything, opinion pieces like this only stand to make life worse on Clark.
And it’s hardly the first time that a young athlete has faced this kind of treatment. Anyone who watches NHL with any regularity can tell you that Sidney Crosby was routinely targeted early in his career.
Additionally, McLean’s referral to Clark as “Ms. Clark” may seem like legalese, but it comes across as patronizing. Clark is not a participant in a court case. She is not a victim, nor someone who needs McLean’s help.
This sort of behavior, as much as anything Clark does on the court, is why she’s targeted by other players and fans. Outside actors, who don’t actually care about Clark, attempt to speak on her behalf and demonize the league as well as opposing players.
If McLean truly wanted to help Catilin Clark, he’d remain quiet.