USA Today changes controversial Caitlin Clark column but still leaves questions
· Yahoo Sports
A USA Today column by Nancy Armour about Caitlin Clark embellishing contact for fouls and trying to work WNBA officials took the sports world by storm this week. And not in a good way.
The controversial column became the focal point of the sports world online in large part because of Armour linking Clark’s on-court actions as being potentially responsible for racist violence by white nationalist elements of her fanbase. Armour even went as far as to link Clark’s flopping to the lynching of Emmett Till in an astonishing paragraph.
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After locking her X account, Armour issued a statement that called her words “inartful” but did not offer an apology. Instead, she said that she regretted that her words took away from the wider conversation about threats towards Black WNBA players. In comments to Front Office Sports, a USA Today spokesperson stood by Armour, stating that her column was opinion and that they would be making no comment about the backlash.
However, USA Today has made a subtle change to Armour’s column and added an editor’s note that says, “This column has been updated to provide further context and clarity.”
However, that update also calls for scrutiny of why USA Today made the choice it did.
The original paragraph at the center of the controversy read as follows:
It shouldn’t need reminding this country has an awful history of Black people being harmed, even killed, in the name of “defending” white women. The WNBA’s All-Star Game this weekend is in Chicago, Emmett Till’s hometown, and a local art gallery is currently hosting an exhibit imagining his life if he hadn’t been lynched. While it’s incumbent on the WNBA to do more to protect its players, there also should be an expectation on Clark to recognize the wider consequences of her actions.
After the controversy and the statement by Armour, the paragraph was edited. However, the reference to Till still remains. The change comes at the end of the paragraph. But the overall point of the column demanding that Clark take responsibility for the actions of others still remains. (Bold emphasis added.)
It shouldn’t need reminding this country has an awful history of Black people being harmed, even killed, in the name of “defending” white women. The irony of the WNBA’s All-Star Game is that it’s happening this weekend in Chicago, the hometown of Emmett Till, who became an icon of the civil rights movement after his tragic murder. The local art gallery is currently hosting an exhibit imagining his life if he hadn’t been lynched. While it’s incumbent on the WNBA to do more to protect its players, there also should be an expectation on Clark to recognize the broader implications of her actions being weaponized.
The decision to make that change does very little to impact the overall scope of the piece. It’s still one that links fouls on a basketball court to one of the most horrific chapters of American history. And it is still laying the blame for bad actors, who are all grown adults who can take their own responsibility for their own actions, at the feet of Caitlin Clark for playing basketball.
But this is what the entire column and even the edit also ignores – Caitlin Clark has spoken out against hate and abuse towards other WNBA players and has also repeatedly lifted up Black players specifically.
In 2024, after being named Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year, she credited Black WNBA players as the foundation of the league. She called for everyone to lift up the contributions of Black WNBA players, even earning the scorn of right-wing commentators like Megyn Kelly.
“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,” Clark said.
She did so in an interview with David Letterman in 2025 when she acknowledged her own privilege and again used the opportunity to lift up that she was thankful for Black WNBA players and embraced her responsibility in acknowledging those truths.
“I’m obviously white, but I think I’m somebody who grew up a huge fan of this league. I grew up watching this league, going to games, supporting this league. So I know where this league comes from: a lot of Black women that grew up making this league what it is. And that’s kind of the shoulders that we stand on. So I think that was something I’m very aware of, and something I’m very thankful for. And they deserve all the credit, and the more we can give credit to them, the better. I’m very aware of that, and I know that, and I think there is responsibility in acknowledging that,” Clark told Letterman.
And during the latest controversy earlier this month, Caitlin Clark specifically said that any harassment and hate directed at anyone in the league is unacceptable.
“Harassment, hate, none of that is OK. That goes for the opposing teams we play, that goes for my teammates, that goes for my coaches. There should never be a question of character, as I’ve always stood up here and said that, and that’s truly what I believe; that’s how I was raised. So, none of that is OK, and I don’t want anyone to experience that,” Clark stated.
But instead of acknowledging any of these comments, USA Today continues to ignore the reality that they exist. Rather, they are continuing to push the narrative that Caitlin Clark is somehow responsible for the worst possible individuals who are using her to advance their own hateful actions and rhetoric. And they have chosen to do nothing about the core issue of the column that inexplicably ties Clark’s basketball to past atrocities.
Every sensible person agrees that the abuse and hatred that has been circling towards Black WNBA players specifically is appalling. And that bad actors using Caitlin Clark to advance any agenda of hatred and violence is something that needs to be stopped. Everyone needs to stand up against it. But choosing to keep pushing this narrative that Clark is somehow responsible for this weaponization, despite her own efforts to the contrary, and standing by what was an inflammatory column, is not going to help anyone advance toward that goal.
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