Over the past week alone, various ESPN commentators have told viewers that Caitlin Clark was not actually punched in the throat (despite clear video evidence), that she has a responsibility to stand up for Black women in the league, that her embellishment is why Alyssa Thomas' fist ended up on her throat, and that she is not even one of the top guards in the WNBA.David Dennis Jr., whom ESPN recently re-signed and promoted, was responsible for some of those remarks on Thursday."I don't think that you can make a compelling argument that Caitlin Clark is a top-four guard in the WNBA," Dennis said, brushing aside the statistical case that proves otherwise.He also argued that it is unfair to claim opposing players are targeting Clark or committing hard fouls out of "petty jealousy." Instead, he said Clark is simply receiving "superstar treatment."Dennis has built a reputation for filtering cultural issues through the lens of race.Last year, he wrote that the idea of praising Sydney Sweeney for her appearance "mortified" him.
Perhaps he was once rejected by a white woman, and the moment still haunts him to this day.Caitlin Clark left the Indiana Fever's Wednesday game against the Phoenix Mercury after suffering a back injury.(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)CHINEY OGWUMIKE CLAIMING THAT A'JA WILSON IS 'GREATER' THAN TOM BRADY EXPOSES ESPN'S WNBA CREDIBILITY PROBLEMStill, the coverage of Clark is not much better elsewhere on ESPN.
The network continues to rely on Chiney Ogwumike and Monica McNutt as two of its leading WNBA analysts, despite their obvious disdain toward Clark.Last week, Ogwumike argued that Alyssa Thomas punching Clark in the neck was not a significant issue because it required a "freeze frame" to see the contact, whatever that means.McNutt, meanwhile, accused young white girls of favoring Clark on racial grounds."Caitlin represented, and again, some of this to me probably is not fair to her, because it was not anything that she said or was truly based on her pe...