Caitlin Clark responds to claims she is 'weaponized for racism and misogyny' again after WNBA star insisted her silence in 'culture war' is a 'luxury'

Caitlin Clark has hit back at her name being weaponized to spread racism and misogyny after coming under to pressure to address the issue. 

 The WNBA rookie appeared to brush off suggestions her name was being used in the ongoing culture war surrounding the league when asked Thursday. 

Connecticut Sun star DiJonai Carrington appeared to take issue with Clark's response, taking to social media to question how players - seemingly the former Iowa star - cannot be bothered by being weaponized for hate.

However, Clark took a stronger stance when pressed directly about the issue later Thursday evening ahead of the Indiana Fever's game against the Atlanta Dream. 

'It's disappointing,' she admitted. 'Everybody in our world deserves the same amount of respect. The women in our league deserve the same amount of respect.

Caitlin Clark has hit back at her name being weaponized to spread racism and misogyny 

'People should not be using my name for those agendas. It's disappointing. It's not acceptable. 

'This league is the league I grew up admiring and wanting to be a part of. Some of the women in this league were my biggest idols and role models growing up and helped me in wanting to achieve this moment right here that I get to play in every single night.' 

When previously asked by reporters about the way people are using her name in the public discourse, Clark had taken a fairly neutral stance, insisting she was just playing her sport.

'It's not something I can control so I don't put too much thought and time into thinking about things like that,' she said. 

'Basketball is my job. Everything on the outside, I can't control that so I'm not going to spend time thinking about that. People can talk about what they want to talk about... I am just there to play basketball.'

However, her response was seemingly perceived as dismissive by Carrington, who took to social media to insist that players should be calling out the issues they see. 

DiJonnai Carrington (R) subtweeted Clark (L) for her response to a question about her name being used in an ongoing 'culture war' surrounding the WNBA in recent weeks

'Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts,' Carrington tweeted. 

'We all see the sh*t. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.' 

Clark has complained that players have escaped punishment for being overly physical when coming up against her in the league - a huge topic debate after Chennedy Carter bodychecked her in a recent game against Chicago Sky.

The 22-year-old Clark was also controversially overlooked for the USA women's basketball team for the Olympics in Paris next month.

Clark had taken a neutral stance, insisting she was just playing her sport when asked earlier  

Clark took a stronger stance when pressed directly about the issue before the Dream game 

The discourse has reached toxic levels with  controversial figures such as Clay Travis and Jason Whitlock claiming Clark is being targeted for being a white and straight player.

Meanwhile, Andscape writer David Dennis Jr. said on Around the Horn, 'people on the fringe that do exist that are in real life - not just Internet trolls; politicians, pundits, and people of the like - [are] using Caitlin Clark as an avatar to lash out at the people who they have disdain for: mainly the makeup of the WNBA, Black women et al.' 

During the Sun's game against the Indiana Fever earlier this week, Carrington appeared to mock Clark by mimicking a flop when she got called for a foul on the rookie. 

Carrington is one of the best players on the Sun - who have the best record in the WNBA at 11-1.