Rachel Nichols ‘Exhausted’ With WNBA Coverage Following Outrage From Player Mocking Caitlin Clark: ‘Why Can’t Women Play the Same Game?’
Rachel Nichols called out a double standard in the media following the response to Connecticut Sun guard Dijonai Carrington mocking Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark for flopping.
During Monday’s game between the Sun and the Fever, Clark drew a foul on Carrington while trying to dribble past her. At the point of contact, Clark appeared to subtly jolt her head backward in an effort to sell the call. When she did get the call, Carrington mocked her by mocking the head movement in an exaggerated fashion.
Dijonai Carrington mocking Caitlin Clark 😂
She’s hilarious #WNBA pic.twitter.com/5UIynmgRHg
— TimeoutSPORTS__ (@TimeoutSPORTS3) June 10, 2024
Since then, Carrington has been criticized online for the act. Similar to the situation with Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter, some have even accused Carrington of being jealous of Clark.
On Tuesday’s episode of Undisputed, Nichols expressed how “exhausted” these WNBA conversations have become.
“I saw two athletes in a highly competitive situation,” Nichols said. “I mean, the Sun were probably always gonna win this game. You’re talking about like Pistons vs. Nuggets here in terms of their position… But I saw athletes playing basketball. I am so exhausted by having to pretend that the women have to play a different kind of game. That Carrington is rude? ‘That’s so rude. That was bad sportsmanship.’ Guess what? We see it all the time! Caitlin is not a delicate flower. We have to stop pretending that. She is an athlete. She knows how to play basketball; and in the NBA, we see it over, and over, and over again.”
Nichols then specifically mentioned NBA players Patrick Beverley and Chris Paul, who’ve gone back and forth mocking one another for flopping in the past. The women, she continued, should be allowed to do the same without facing criticism in the media.
“Why can’t women play the same game that the men do?” she said. “Why are we talking about manners? Why are we [saying], ‘She was mean to her’? That is not basketball!”
Watch above via Fox Sports 1.
