WNBA and players condemn racist slurs after Caitlin Clark's Fever playoff loss | WNBA

The Indiana Fever's loss to the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA playoffs was marred by officials from both teams and the league stepping in to condemn racist slurs surrounding the game.

Fever star Caitlin Clark has become one of the most recognizable sports stars in the United States in her rookie season, which has led to a significant number of racist, sexist and homophobic comments online, supposedly defending Clark, who is white, in a league where the majority of players are black and many are gay.

During Wednesday's game, which Connecticut won 87-81 to secure a 2-0 series win, there were reports of racial slurs from some fans of the home Indiana team. Some Sun players also received abuse online. Clark suffered a black eye in the first game of the series after a foul by DiJonai Carrington. Both players say the injury was unintentional. Before Wednesday's game, Carrington shared on social media an email she received that racially abused her before the sender said they hope someone “rapes them and cuts their heads off.”

After the game, Sun forward Alyssa Thomas said the racist abuse she received during the series was the worst she had experienced in her 11-year career.

“This is frankly unacceptable,” Thomas said. “There is no place for this. We have behaved professionally throughout this whole thing, but I have never been abused like I have been on social media.”

“Basketball is going in a great direction, but we don't want fans degrading us and calling us racist names. I mean, we already see what's going on in the world and what we have to deal with in that regard. And we play basketball because it's our job and it's fun, but we don't want to go to work every day and have social media freak out about things like that. That's inappropriate. Something has to be done, whether it's policing their fans or policing this league, there's no time for that anymore.”

Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides also condemned the abuse.

“There's a lot of hurtful, hateful language out there, and that's unacceptable. If it gets personal to me, there's no reason for it,” she said. “These people have to listen and watch – social media is their life. That's just what they do. And they have to read and see these things all the time, and all the stories that are made up of what people see or think they see. It's just not acceptable when it gets personal.”

The WNBA released a statement following Sides and Thomas' comments.

“The WNBA is a competitive league with some of the best athletes in the world,” it said. “While we welcome a growing fan base, the WNBA does not tolerate racist, derogatory or threatening comments about players, teams and anyone associated with the league. League security actively monitors threat-related activity and will work directly with teams and stadiums to take appropriate action, including involving law enforcement when necessary.”

In June, Clark condemned those who use her name to insult other players.

“People should not be using my name to push these agendas. That's disappointing. That's not acceptable,” Clark said. “… Treating every single woman in this league with the same level of respect, I think, is just a basic human trait that everyone should do.”

During Wednesday's game, Clark argued with a fan sitting in the second row. Security briefly removed the fan before allowing him to return. It is unclear what was said during the altercation.