Kelsey Mitchells Caitlin Clark comments deserve context, including the benefits of all that attention
"I don’t think people really understand how much we endure, man," Mitchell said Saturday.Later, she asked people to give the players "grace."Some coverage quickly turned that into Mitchell taking a shot at the Fever fanbase.
I don’t think that’s an accurate reading of what she said.This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated.
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.Kelsey Mitchell's WNBA salary jumped from under $60,000 to $1.4 million, but her press conference focused on the toll of playing with Caitlin Clark.(Getty Images)Mitchell has publicly praised Clark in the past and acknowledged the opportunities she helped create.
She’s also allowed to explain what’s difficult about being her teammate.Neither makes her an enemy of the woman playing beside her.WNBA FIGHT OVER MALES IN WOMEN'S SPORTS EXPOSES HOW THE LEFT KEEPS ANSWERING A QUESTION NOBODY ASKEDBut the benefits of all that attention still belong in this discussion.
Mitchell’s salary went from under $60,000 in 2020 to $206,000 in the season before Clark arrived in the WNBA to $1.4 million in 2026.That’s a pretty substantial part of the Caitlin Clark experience, too.Mitchell discussed getting "a lot of flak" for "being on her team," referring to Clark.She also referenced people throughout the basketball world and spoke positively about the Fever organization, praising it as "unbelievable."I read that as a broader description of the scrutiny that comes with playing alongside Clark.
Her answer didn’t establish whether the criticism came from Fever fans, Clark’s detractors or some combination of the two.Those people exist, obviously, and being associated with the league’s biggest star makes Mitchell a target for their criticism, too.That’s different from declaring that Indiana’s own fans are the problem.
Mitchell didn’t identify everyone sending her messag...