A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark (Photos via USA Today Images)

WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark has had her fair share of fans in every arena she has stepped foot in. Along the way, she also has a bunch of haters.

After being the subject of cultural debates throughout her rookie season, the Indiana Fever superstar turned a lot of supporters into haters after she admitted to feeling “privilege” as a White woman.

In December, Clark, who was the first overall pick in last year’s WNBA Draft, was named ‘Athlete of the Year’ by TIME Magazine.

In her interview with the magazine, she spoke about ‘white privilege’ that fell her way as she entered the league and drove up the interest levels.

“I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” Caitlin Clark told TIME.

Caitlin then went on to praise Black women, saying, “A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them.

“The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing.”

Fast forward to February 2025, and A’ja Wilson is now reacting to her words.

The Las Vegas Aces superstar spoke at length about what Clark said during her own interview with Time Magazine for their Women of the Year issue.

“It’s powerful to me,” Wilson said of Clark’s comments.

“As a Black woman in the WNBA, we have our struggles in showcasing who we really are. A lot of agendas get pushed on a lot of different platforms that may shadow us. You work so hard, but you still have to work 10 times harder just to be seen. So when we can have our counterparts speak up, it speaks volumes to me because they’re in spaces where my path is never supposed to go. It’s crazy that we’re talking about that in 2025, but it’s real. We see those things as Black women. We see where people stand up and speak for us.

“I know [Clark] got a lot of backlash from that because obviously we live in a world where they don’t want that, and it’s exhausting. But imagine dealing with that and then having to go out and play every single night, having to constantly have to worry, How are they about to downgrade my resume now? What more do I have to do in order to showcase how elite and how serious I take my job? But I also do it with love and, passion, and fun. A lot of people don’t want to see me at the top, and that’s fine, but I’m gonna be there because I worked my butt off to get there,” she continued.

“I have a privilege in a lot of different ways. I can be in spaces where a lot of other Black women, white women, however you want to see it, are not—but that’s where I’m going to try to use my privilege of being a professional athlete to help others, because that’s what gives me my why. So claps, steps, all the in-between, because I know it’s hard to speak out on that. That’s why I try to speak out as much as I can, but people just see it a different way. That’s OK. I just want people to understand that when people can speak up about us as Black women in rooms that we may not be in, that means a lot. Because it’s a little piece of us in there—they can hold that door open for us to walk through. So I’m grateful.”

Caitlin Clark And Angel Reese have Been Put In The Forefront of The Race Debate

Caitlin Clark (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were easily the top-2 most popular rookies during their first year in the league.

Race has been introduced into the conversation ever since their college teams went head-to-head during March Madness.

Unfortunately, their fan bases are unlikely to stop that racial divide anytime soon.

This is likely to be an ongoing theme until the two become good friends.