Productivity Hacks

Caitlin Clark Says Her Parents “Struggle” With the Hate She Gets, Because “We’re Just Normal People With Feelings.”

Sportswire Icon / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

By January Nelson
January Nelson

The actor who has won two awards says that he has learned to shut up the noise, but his parents cannot do the same. When racial debates and cheap arguments pile up, they think of themselves.

Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark sit on the Indiana Fever bench during their game against the Phoenix Mercury
Sophie Cunningham (#8) and Caitlin Clark (#22) share a moment on the bench during the Indiana Fever’s home game against the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 30, 2025. Photo by Dylan Buell / Getty Images.

The letter followed a June 24 game in Indianapolis when Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas made contact with Clark’s throat with her fist during a loose ball. There’s nothing wrong with being called live. The league later upgraded it to Flagrant 2 and suspended Thomas for one game. Clark left the game early with a back strain, and Fever coach Stephanie White called the incident “gross” and “totally unacceptable.”

A female basketball player wearing a navy Indiana Fever jersey holds the basket in the shooting range during pregame warmups on the court.
Clark takes aim during game warmups before the Indiana Fever’s game against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena on June 20, 2026. Photo by Colin Hubbard / Getty Images.

Eleven House Republicans, led by Rep. August Pfluger, put the WNBA “on notice” in a letter saying Clark “has been groped in the hip, poked in the eye, and hit in the throat during games.” They wrote that the incidents “go beyond fair play” and the Department of Justice, the EEOC, and the Department of Labor investigate if the pattern amounts to a hostile work environment.

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever gets fouled by Maria Conde of the Toronto Tempo during a WNBA game
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark fouls Toronto Tempo’s Maria Conde during a WNBA game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 16, 2026. Photo by Andy Lyons / Getty Images.

That’s what Clark told Michael Lee of The Washington Post. “They see all these things, too. You have to remember, we’re normal people with feelings. My parents have feelings. It can be really hard sometimes,” he said of his mother and father.

Caitlin Clark stands with four family members on the basketball court, one holding a memorial black basketball with the number 22 on it.
Caitlin Clark stands with her family at Carver-Hawkeye Arena during a jersey retirement ceremony held before Iowa’s Big Ten home game against USC on February 2, 2025. Photo by Keith Gillett / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.

Clark, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, said he needs to build a defense that his parents don’t have. “I feel like I have a good ability to block everything,” he said. “Since you’re in this position, you better have that ability, or it will break you at some point.”

He also downplayed how much of the story has moved away from the game itself. “I think it’s hard for people to remember, I like to play basketball. This is my job. This is what I came for. I didn’t come for all the other things,” he said.

Three women standing outside on the golf course; the two on the left are wearing blue Indiana caddy bibs with the numbers 10 and 8, while the woman on the right is wearing a white Nike golf dress and cap.
On the 16th day at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, Caitlin Clark – wearing a Nike golf dress and white cap – shares a laugh with Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham, both wearing Indiana caddy bibs, before the ANNIKA drive by Gainbridge on November 12, 2025. Photo by Douglas Getty P.

The rampant rage isn’t just on the internet. Candace Parker recently entered a peer poll that ranked Clark as the 11th best point guard in the league, saying that players who are stuck need to “go to a therapist and find out what childhood problems you have.”

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