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Caitlin Clark is NOT hated by her basketball rivals, claims WNBA legend - who offers her own theory on Angel Reese and Chennedy Carter clashes
WNBA legend Sue Bird insisted that Caitlin Clark is not hated by her competitors while praising the Indiana Fever rookie's impact on the league.
The No 1 overall pick has been the catalyst for the WNBA's soaring popularity as viewership and attendance numbers have broken records time and time since her entry. However, the hard-fought battles on the court have led to some fans crying foul over players 'targeting' the former Iowa star.
Speaking on Sarah Spain's Good Game podcast on iHeartRadio, Bird acknowledged the magnitude of Clark's arrival into the league. Furthermore, she claims the false perception is created by media members.
'Caitlin will go down as, whatever you want to call it, the one who made the change, this pivotal person,' Bird said. 'She will, 100 per cent. But in other leagues … it was never like when LeBron (James) came, 'Oh, Michael Jordan didn't matter.'
Bird instead suggested that Clark's infamous clashes with Chennedy Carter and Angel Reese were simply down to players being extra competitive in the heat of battle - rather than underlying hatred.
Sue Bird claimed that WNBA players do not hate Caitlin Clark despite claims from the media
'And for some reason that happened, and it caused this whole thing,' Bird said. 'When the reality was, no player felt that way toward Caitlin, everybody was very welcoming and inviting, and (media) mistook competitive talk for hate, with hating on somebody.'
The lack of prior WNBA knowledge from sports personalities talking about the league has resulted in brutal takes about Clark's reception in the league.
An infamous example would be Robert Griffin III claiming that Clark and Reese were 'being used in a race war' in June.
Before the outrageous claim, more bad takes sprung from Reese's teammate , Carter, shoving Clark during their June 1 matchup. In their next meeting, Clark took a forearm to the face from Reese as she went of for a basket.
However, four-time WNBA champion and 13-time All-Star is convinced that WNBA players are reacting with a competitive attitude but without animosity.
'I think the majority of WNBA players with their play, with their talk, it was just competition, not hate for a person,' Bird said.
'It's just sports, but we have trouble not being weird around women in sports — so we made it weird.'
Clark's popularity at Iowa during her collegiate career has translated well into the WNBA
Attendance and viewership numbers have risen dramatically since Clark entered the league
Despite their built-in WNBA rivalry, Clark and Reese will be joining forces this weekend with the WNBA All-Star team as they take on Team USA ahead of the Olympics. With the masses' disappointment over the rookies being left out of the national team, Bird recently offered words of encouragement for Clark and Reese.
'For me, a lot of my moments, a lot of my hardships, I guess, came in the form of injuries. And all it did was motivate me to get back on the court even better, even stronger,' the five-time Olympic gold medalist said on Distractify.
'I always joke like, there's literally no championship team that probably didn't lose dramatically. And by dramatic, I mean, you go home in tears-type vibes. There's no team that didn't lose before they won, right?'
'In a sense, you kind of have to have these moments that give you motivation to be able to continue to achieve,' Bird added. 'So I'm sure for Caitlin [and] for Angel, it's only going to make them hungrier to be on the next Olympic team. It'll be exciting when they get there.'