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WNBA, media slammed complete handling of Caitlin Clark firestorm
OutKick big Dan Dakich criticizes nan WNBA and media for mishandling prima Caitlin Clark, arguing nan league, aft 30 years, fails to capitalize connected her popularity. He cites 'petty jealousies, racism, and sexism' arsenic reasons for antagonistic narratives and constricted support for nan 24-year-old athlete. Dakich suggests this impacts some Clark and nan sport's imaginable growth.
Chicago Sky's DiJonai Carrington spiraled connected societal media complete nan weekend, accusing her ex-girlfriend of cheating connected her pinch aggregate women astir nan WNBA.
"Since mfs wanna beryllium funny coming ima beryllium hilarious! yes, nalyssa cheated connected maine pinch Deja Kelly and Aaliyah Nye +++ galore more," Carrington posted connected X.
According to ESPN commentator Monica McNutt's logic, location is 1 personification to blasted for this alleged WNBA hit-it-and-quit-it scandal. Caitlin Clark. Who else?
McNutt maintains that Clark has a civilized responsibility to uplift nan WNBA "sisterhood," moreover erstwhile it has thing to do pinch her.
On Sunday, McNutt insisted Clark is to blame for nan antagonistic headlines surrounding nan WNBA because she lacks "accountability" and "self-awareness."
In different words, Clark is nan logic USA Today compared her flopping connected nan tribunal to nan lynching of Black group and falsely accused her of skipping an All-Star arena to get her hairsbreadth done. Both of those headlines originated past week.
Apparently, Clark is besides to blasted for group noticing Black women connected nan tribunal driving their fists into her pharynx and raking her oculus pinch their fingernails.
Again, this is each according to nan logic of Monica McNutt.
Monica McNutt smiles during nan 2026 WNBA draught connected April 13 astatine The Shed successful New York. (NBAE via Getty Images)
McNutt utilizing her ESPN level to smear and belittle Clark is hardly new. She antecedently accused small White girls of favoring Clark because of racism and pretended arsenic if obscure WNBA players are much celebrated than Clark. However, nan truth that she is still doing it is rather telling.
In lawsuit you weren't alert — because apparently McNutt isn't — ESPN is done pinch nan group idolatry, wokeness, and buffoonery that defined overmuch of nan web complete nan past decade. Here are immoderate of nan names ESPN has moved connected from successful caller years: Mark Jones, Bomani Jones, Sarah Spain, Kenny Mayne, Clinton Yates, Jalen Rose, Israel Gutierrez, Michelle Beadle and Katie Nolan.
Add Ryan Clark and Cam Newton to that list. ESPN ended relationships pinch some of them past week — as OutKick first reported — arsenic portion of a information of talent layoffs and nonrenewals.
Chiney Ogwumike, McNutt's chap Mean Girl and Caitlin Clark adversary, sewage nan hint. Last Friday, she admitted her sum of Clark went excessively acold and needed to recenter nan speech backmost to basketball.
"The ESPN Purge (firing of Ryan Clark) is showing first signs of success. They're already stepping backmost their group idiocy connected air. Amazing. They must've threatened them pinch bringing maine backmost for a 3rd time," Jason Whitlock joked astir Ogwumike's abrupt shift.
McNutt didn't get nan hint. And for galore of nan aforesaid reasons ESPN parted ways pinch Ryan Clark, McNutt should beryllium ESPN's adjacent casualty.
We don't opportunity that because of her governmental views aliases her opinions. We opportunity it because she is undermining nan network's credibility for selfish reasons. We presume those reasons see building her marque connected Bluesky and indulging her ain individual biases.
RYAN CLARK MADE IT TOO DIFFICULT FOR ESPN TO JUSTIFY KEEPING HIM AFTER YEARS OF CONTROVER
Caitlin Clark #22 of nan Indiana Fever reacts aft being fouled successful nan 3rd 4th against nan Connecticut Sun astatine Gainbridge Fieldhouse connected June 17, 2025, successful Indianapolis, Ind. (Getty Images)
McNutt doesn't conscionable person issues pinch Clark. She besides has issues pinch Taylor Swift. During nan NBA Finals, McNutt was caught connected a basking mic sneering astatine Swift, accusing her of bandwagoning nan New York Knicks. In actuality, Swift has been a Knicks instrumentality for years and attended games moreover during their losing seasons.
Why precisely McNutt has specified a snarky position of Swift is unclear. Though possibly you could return a guess, considering her arsenic snarky views of Caitlin Clark, small White girls, and Sophie Cunningham.
Hmm.
A tearful Ryan Clark, utterly devoid of accountability, called himself nan "best expert successful nan world" while addressing his firing past Friday. While that's subjective, we admit Clark was astatine slightest tin arsenic a sports analyst. McNutt is not.
Last August, she hosted an NFL preview show pinch Stephen A. Smith and did not cognize who Hall of Fame moving backmost Barry Sanders was.
Watch below:
Blame Caitlin Clark for that, too.
Let's callback a fewer paragraphs we wrote past week explaining why ESPN could no longer justify employing Ryan Clark.
We first cited nan reasons to trim him: Clark made astir $2 cardinal per year, astir 4 times what nan mean NFL expert earns. He was unpopular pinch overmuch of nan audience. He had a strained estimation pinch staffers and a mixed 1 among on-air colleagues. Over nan past twelvemonth alone, he generated a drawstring of antagonistic headlines for ESPN, including shaming Robert Griffin III for marrying a White female and making dubious claims astir constabulary officers progressive successful what was yet ruled a suicide. He besides created some on- and off-air hostility by belittling Peter Schrager, astir whom ESPN is now building a caller tv show, because Schrager ne'er played football. Clark besides had a wont of injecting title into discussions wherever it simply didn't belong.
And past nan reasons to support him: None.
We past explained why this move is not exclusive to Clark.
As ample arsenic their egos whitethorn be, nan overwhelming mostly of employees astatine ESPN — aliases immoderate awesome tv web — are simply filling airtime. They are interchangeable. There is nary meaningful financial quality betwixt having 1 expert alternatively of another. That's not to opportunity these analysts and reporters aren't bully astatine their jobs. Many are. It's simply that their worth supra replacement is fundamentally nonexistent. The aforesaid is existent crossed firm America. The spread betwixt bully and indispensable is significant.
Employees are inherently replaceable. Across firm America, employers switch workers each time without suffering a azygous quantifiable disadvantage.
Most labor understand this and, accordingly, don't create headaches. When your worth is expendable, each problem you create becomes different logic you aren't worthy nan trouble. Yet truthful galore existent and erstwhile ESPN labor can't look to understand that.
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Caitlin Clark No. 22 of nan Indiana Fever reacts aft a flagrant foul by Diamond DeShields No. 0 of nan Chicago Sky astatine Wintrust Arena successful Chicago, Ill., connected Aug. 30, 2024. (Getty Images)
By definition, Monica McNutt provides nothing to ESPN.
More group don't watch nan transmission because of her. Sponsors don't salary much because she is connected nan network. She doesn't supply news aliases penetration that is exclusive to her. She doesn't amended nan nationalist cognition of ESPN.
And for illustration Ryan Clark, she has provided ESPN pinch a lengthy database of reasons to trim her. McNutt isn't valuable capable to beryllium this reckless, this racial, and this uninformed.
She is besides either excessively arrogant aliases excessively naïve to publication nan room. Look astatine those thriving astatine ESPN. They screen sports and do truthful positively and entertainingly. Meanwhile, McNutt is caterwauling and gaslighting, often by forcing oversized words into sentences.
Note: "matriculate" did not fresh her different slang-filled rant astir Clark.
OutKick asked McNutt connected Monday why she continues to screen Clark truthful negatively and whether she disagrees pinch ESPN's caller direction. She did not respond arsenic of publication.
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Most likely, she believes nan onus falls connected Caitlin Clark to take sides nan Mean Girls successful nan media who are smearing her.
McNutt's logic. Not ours.
Bobby Burack is simply a writer for OutKick.
