Texas Republican Demands ‘Accountability’ From the WNBA After ‘Multiple Attacks’ On Caitlin Clark

Erica Denhoff/AP

Texas Congressman August Pfluger (R-TX) shared a letter he appears to have sent to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to demand “accountability” from the league in response to “multiple attacks” against Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.

“I led my colleagues in demanding accountability from @WNBA Commissioner Engelbert after MULTIPLE attacks against Caitlin Clark, a player who is transforming women’s sports and inspiring a new generation of young girls to participate in athletics,” Pfluger wrote on X. “I’m putting the league on notice that if it keeps letting the violent targeting slide, they could find themselves facing a DOJ and EEOC crackdown for violating federal civil rights law.”

Mediaite has reached out to the WNBA for comment.

In his letter, Pfluger describes Clark as “the face of your league” and notes she has “significantly increased fan interest, driven record television ratings, and attracted new corporate sponsors for the WNBA.” There are millions of people who watch Indiana Fever games to see Clark, he insisted. “Unfortunately, what they too often witness is not simply aggressive competition, but repeated acts of unnecessary physical hostility and violence.”

Those supposed “acts of violence” include “being hip-checked, poked in the eye, and struck in the throat during games,” that “go far beyond routine physical play.”

Pfluger also said, “Many of these attacks against Caitlin Clark may be racially motivated.”

Should Engelbert fail to act, Pfluger and the letter’s signatories insisted they would “support any appropriate investigation by the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,” the results of which “could constitute violations of federal civil rights laws.”

The group requested the WNBA reply by July 24 with answers to three questions about the league’s review process for “physical hostility and violence on the court,” how the league holds players accountable for “overly aggressive acts on the court, including towards Caitlin Clark,” and what steps the league has taken to protect players from online threats.

The answers to the group’s questions have largely been demonstrated by the WNBA as recently as June. Clark was on the receiving end of a foul that went uncalled during the Fever’s June 24 game against the Phoenix Mercury, but the moment in which the Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas appeared to push her fist against Clark’s throat while standing up was assessed as a Flagrant 2 foul the following day. Thomas was suspended for one game and fined, both standard ways the league has historically held players accountable for such fouls.

A Flagrant 2 foul is defined by the WNBA as “contact committed against a player, with or without the ball, is interpreted to be unnecessary and excessive.”

Clark agreed the June 24 incident was a foul, but also told reporters the harassment Thomas subsequently received (much of it delivered online) was not appropriate. “Harassment, hate, none of that is OK. That goes for the opposing teams we play, that goes for my teammates, that goes for my coaches,” Clark said on July 3. “There should never be question of character, I’ve always stood up here and said that, and that’s truly what I believe, that’s how I was raised. So, none of that is OK and I don’t want anyone to experience that.”

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