“It Comes Across As Hating”

Mase has thrown his hat in the ring of Caitlin Clark defenders, speaking out against the WNBA rookie sensation’s issues with receiving hard fouls from the opposition. Despite being the third-most fouled player in the league, the Indiana Fever rookie said in an interview with NBC News that aired on Monday, June 3, that she made an effort not to let the criticism get to her. When asked about the hard foul that has had everyone talking, she said, “I wasn’t expecting it. But I think it’s … just respond, come down, let the play do the talking. It is what it is. It’s a physical game, go make the free throw and then execute on offense.”

On a recent episode of the It Is What It Is, Mase defended Catilin Clark. He said on the podcast, “They are just playing down the significance of just female sports being portrayed the right way.” He continued, saying, “If you want branding dollars, then you have to be brand appropriate. You go further when your brand is clean enough to be marketed on different platforms. […]” He thinks the other players are purposefully being physical with her and that the treatment she has been receiving makes them seem like haters.

Mase continued to say, “Not that you should be helping her, but you definitely shouldn’t be trying to hurt her. It shouldn’t be over-aggression towards Caitlin, because it comes across as hating.” The Caitlin Clark discourse is continuing to heat up. Everyone is commenting on the harsh treatment during her debut WNBA season. Mase sees the social media clips and the outrage machine that is perpetually churning and has come to the conclusion that there is something unfair going on with Caitlin Clark. Overall, to the world outside of diehard WNBA fans, the treatment does, in fact, seem a tad unfair.

Caitlin Clark has been a major factor in the WNBA having this moment of popularity. Let’s hope the discourse that has been at times, toxic can calm down enough to enjoy some basketball. The WNBA is a rough league. There is a level of physicality in the league that you don’t see in the NBA. For that reason, some of these fouls may be shocking to new viewers. But people that have watched and covered the league will let you know these types of hard fouls are pretty common, and so is the treatment of star rookies. Overall, Mase thinks the fouls aren’t a good look for the vets of the WNBA. We will see if anything changes with how Caitlin Clark is received.