Geno Auriemma always has something to say, and he’ll get a chance talk plenty as a TV color commentator for a Dallas Wings-New York Liberty game Wednesday night, July 7, on ESPN.
The Connecticut women’s basketball coach joined Richard Dietsch’s podcast to discuss what he expects from this new experience, and he talked all things women’s basketball. Of course, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever came up.
Auriemma decried what he calls outsized reactions by Clark uberfans and Clark haters that came forward following the Clark-Alyssa Thomas incident on June 24. During a loose ball, Thomas of the Phoenix Mercury put her fist on Clark’s throat. No call was made at the time but Thomas was later suspended for one game. It was a big enough deal that President Donald Trump commented on it.
“So instead of it becoming Caitlin Clark gets fouled hard — no (expletive), every first-round draft gets fouled hard,” he said. “Not every foul is a good foul. Not every foul’s a bad foul. But there are fouls that are flagrant. But that’s all they are. They are not a referendum on America, when is what the whole (expletive) thing has become.”
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Auriemma said that by no fault of her own, Clark became a lightning rod.
“Now I hope people can differentiate here,” he said. “She never stood up and said, ‘I’m Jesus and I’m coming.’ This was not created by her. It was created about her by all the people in America who are delusional that think one player who’s not (Victor Wembanyama) is going to come in and transform the league.”
Auriemma acknowledged that Clark’s presence has helped the WNBA’s visibility, franchise values and player salaries. However, she hasn’t revolutionized the on-court product the way Tiger Woods did in golf.
Nonetheless, he says there will be jealously, and he hopes that will disappear.
“I do think there are some animosities in that league where people are going to take a shot at her unfairly,” he said. “No question about that.”
What Geno Auriemma said when Caitlin Clark was a rookie
Auriemma said in 2024 that Clark wouldn’t kind of effect of Larry Bird or Magic Johnson had on the NBA in terms of skill, and that veteran players would try to put her in her place.
“But because the bandwagon and the fandom became so obsessed with the whole thing, it turned into a cause. She became the reason why white players get beat up in the WNBA and she became the reason why Black players don’t get the endorsements and don’t get the adulation that white players get,” Auriemma said of the instant reaction when Clark entered the league.
He said he told his UConn players who were chosen first, such as Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird, to be prepared.
“When you’re the No. 1 pick, you better be ready because the (expletive) is going to hit the fan and you’re going to have to deal with it.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Famed UConn women’s basketball coach says foul on Caitlin Clark ‘not a referendum on America’
Reporting by Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
