Sports commentator Jason Whitlock has come to ESPN analyst Monica McNutt's defense. McNutt faced backlash for her comments on Caitlin Clark after the Indiana Fever guard said that she was critical of the media narrative about her and felt fearful about what new story would pop up after a game.

While McNutt acknowledged Clark as a "shining star" and also admitted that the negative media discourse can be "exhausting," she said that Clark should be more accountable with the power she has. WNBA analyst Rosalina Lee fired back, accusing McNutt of clinging to a "dying narrative."

But Whitlock saw it differently.

"This isn't me being a contrarian. I don't have a problem with Monica McNutt's commentary here," he wrote on X, quoting Lee's post on Monday. "It's not unfair. I say that also believing All-Star Weekend proved beyond a shadow of doubt that Caitlin Clark is the only person qualified to be the face of the W. The hoop-n-h*** league has no other candidate. Paige = No Class."

Clark was arguably the biggest star in the All-Star Game that drew a record 19,783 crowd at the United Center in Chicago. She enjoys an unprecedented fame, and sometimes that backfires against her and other players.

This dynamic played out when Alyssa Thomas alleged receiving threats from fans on social media after a controversial foul against Clark in late June. Moreover, the media that further set a narrative in this simple on-court incident and talked things outside basketball is what Clark said was frustrating.

"It's basketball": Caitlin Clark blasts media for overblowing Alyssa Thomas incident

During an interview with Malika Andrews on ESPN, Clark said that it's "frustrating" for her to watch people mischaracterize an incident on the court. She called out the media for setting false narratives in every season.

"It seems like there's always a moment like that in every season that I've played so far," she told ESPN's Malika Andrews on Sunday, July 26. "And I think for myself, I just try to navigate it the best I can. It gets exhausting, it gets frustrating, because I think, especially that's a perfect example."

The Fever star said that even if it was a hard foul, it should have been dealt with and eventually buried on the basketball court. Clark pointed out that similar plays happen in the NBA, but it never gets blown out of context.

"It's not anything more than that. It's basketball. When I walk out of the locker room, I shouldn't be fearful of what the conversation is gonna be...Because people don't want to talk about the basketball. They just wanna stir it up and make something else."

Clark is alluding to the same issue that other WNBA stars and legends have raised. While the league is enjoying an unprecedented success, conversations often derail from the basketball.

Fame almost always has a flip side, sometimes hidden by the same media that covers it 24x7. Clark has enjoyed the fame since she was in college, and now she is acknowledging the negative side of it.

Do you think Clark's assessment is fair? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Yash Kotak