Caitlin Clark has told Pat McAfee they are ‘all good’ and they’ll ‘move forward’ after he controversially called the WNBA star a ‘white b****’ during his show on Monday.
McAfee issued a groveling apology after the slur, which came while he was offering a strange defense of the Indiana Fever star in the wake of her rough treatment by Chennedy Carter.
The ESPN broadcaster said in a statement on Monday night that he’d reached out to Clark to say sorry directly. He opened his show on Tuesday by saying that she had responded.
McAfee said: ‘Obviously that’s a massive f***up on my end. I apologize for that.
‘I did reach out to Caitlin Clark through the Fever, sent an apology and then got a message back that she said it was all good. No blood. We move forward. And she appreciates us reaching out and apologizing.
Pat McAfee revealed Caitlin Clark’s response to his ‘white b****’ comment on Tuesday’s show
Clark has dominated the headlines after being brutally fouled by Chennedy Carter on Saturday
‘So that obviously makes me feel a little bit better. But to the people that got p***ed off yesterday and offended, I understand. I learned a lot.’
McAfee was heavily criticized on social media for the comment about Clark – who has dominated the headlines ever since Chennedy Carter’s brutal foul on her on Saturday.
The WWE commentator noted how other rookies – like Angel Reese and Cameron Brink – have boosted the profile of the WNBA but the league’s boom in popularity is solely down to Clark.
He brought up a number of statistics comparing the three rookies to illustrate that point but, while doing so, called Clark a ‘white b****’, which seemed completely unnecessary.
After being hit by complaints on social media on Monday, McAfee took to X later on to apologize. He posted: ‘I shouldn’t have used “white b****” as a descriptor of Caitlin Clark.
‘No matter the context.. even if we’re talking about race being a reason for some of the stuff happening.. I have way too much respect for her and women to put that into the universe.
That was Guess Which WNBA Rookie#PMSLive #Journalism https://t.co/c3qhIbrk2e pic.twitter.com/SrQwC3Ejpv
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 3, 2024
The TV host posted a groveling apology to Clark, saying he has ‘way too much respect for her’
‘My intentions when saying it were complimentary just like the entire segment but, a lot of folks are saying that it certainly wasn’t at all. That’s 100% on me and for that I apologize… I have sent an apology to Caitlin as well. Everything else I said… still alllllll facts.’
Clark was knocked to the ground by Carter towards the end of the third quarter of the Fever’s win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday and it has sparked a debate about the treatment of Clark since she turned pro.
Clark has constantly been the subject of rough treatment from opponents during her rookie season amid claims of jealousy from other players at her explosive impact on women’s basketball.
Carter insisted on Monday night she has ‘no regrets’ about her actions as she addressed the incident directly for the first time.
The 25-year-old appeared to yell ‘you b***h’ at the former Iowa star before knocking her to the ground. The Chicago player then refused to answer questions about Clark immediately after Saturday’s loss to the Indiana Fever.
Clark was inexplicably bodychecked to the ground by Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter
But following practice on Monday, she said: ‘I don’t have any regrets with anything. I’m going to compete and play 100 per cent hard – no matter who it is or who we’re playing.’
Carter said she acted in the ‘heat of the moment’ and was simply retaliating.
Footage appears to show Clark catching the guard with her elbow moments before she was knocked to the ground.
‘I think I got hit in the head the play before and it was just one of those things that was in the heat of the moment. I don’t know Caitlin. I don’t know her from anyone but at the end of the day this is hoops, it is competitive,’ she said.
‘This is basketball, if you’re playing someone like me, I classify myself as a dawg. So if you’re going to throw a punch, I’m going to compete with you.
Carter added: ‘When we’re inside those four lines, it’s smoke. After it’s all love… we didn’t hit her like she was out on the streets. It’s just basketball.’
The Chicago player addressed the incident directly for the first time after practice on Monday
The 25-year-old, who received the backing of Whoopi Goldberg on Monday, was asked if she now accepted that her actions had crossed a line.
Even Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon publicly criticized the play, insisting it was ‘not appropriate’.
‘She and I have discussed what happened and that it was not appropriate, nor is it what we do or who we are,’ Weatherspoon said.
But Carter insisted: ‘There’s no line. I’m competing. I’m going to compete… if you’re going to throw punches first, I’m going to compete. It’s all love. It’s basketball.
‘This happens in the NBA. Actually, I’m focused on New York (Liberty) now, I’m not really focused on that play anymore. It happened… it’s over with.’
