'Unacceptable': The scandal surrounding Caitlin Clark's WNBA playoff elimination game

Last week, the Connecticut Sun swept the Indiana Fever in the first round of the WNBA playoffs despite Caitlin Clark's best efforts.

Despite what was an excellent game of basketball on the court, the spectacle was ruined by horrific scenes off the court, with players and coaches reporting racist and personal abuse directed at them by fans inside the stadium.

Alyssa Thomas of the Sun told reporters after the game, “In my 11-year career, I've never experienced the racial comments from the Indiana Fever fan base. It's unacceptable, honestly,” per ESPN.

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Thomas continued, “There's no place for it. We've been professional throughout the whole entire thing, but I've never been called the things that I've been called on social media.” Suggesting there has been an escalation in the abuse.

Thomas was the Sun’s best player on the night, putting up 19 points, 13 assists and five rebounds as her team swept the Fever to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Her performance will be marred by the abuse she faced by fans, saying, “we don't want fans that are going to degrade us and call us racial names,” which seems entirely reasonable.

As Thomas points out, playing basketball is, ultimately, just her job, with the Sun forward saying, “we come to play basketball for our job and it's fun, but we don't want to go to work every day and have social media blown up over things like that.”

Fever head coach Christie Sides shared similar comments to Thomas, saying, “It's a lot of hurtful, hateful speech out there that's happening, and it's unacceptable,” following her side's loss, per Andrea Adelson for ESPN.

Sides continued, “These guys 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 constantly… It is just not acceptable when it gets personal.”

Sun head coach Stephanie White made similar comments following the game, “We've seen a lot of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia throughout the course of our country. Sport is no exception, and it's unacceptable,” before adding, “the media have to do a better job of [is] not allowing trolls and social media to become the story.”

Game two between the Fever and Sun was marred by chippiness all night, with Caitlin Clark involved in a verbal exchange with a fan, who was temporarily removed from the court. There are no suggestions as to what was said between the two.

The WNBA released a statement on social media saying, “The WNBA is a competitive league with some of the most elite athletes in the world. While we welcome a growing fan base, the WNBA will not tolerate racist, derogatory, or threatening comments made about players, teams and anyone affiliated with the league.”

The league went on to suggest legal action could be taken against those involved in any abuse, saying, “League security is actively monitoring threat-related activity and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate measures, to include involving law enforcement as necessary.”

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