Atlanta Dream star center Brittney Griner has whipped up conservative fury as they accuse her of hurling a racial slur at rival Caitlin Clark.
Moments before the conclusion of the Indiana Fever’s 81-76 victory over the Dream at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Thursday, cameras panned to Griner, who critics say labeled Clark “trash” before calling her a “f***ing white girl” in frustration over a foul on Natasha Howard.
While a lack of audio meant it remained unclear whether Griner made the provocative comment, the moment quickly became fuel for controversy and sparked debate online.
Conservative firebrand Riley Gaines shared the viral clip online and interpreted the three-time Olympic gold medalist's comments as a verbal attack.
“Brittney Griner appeared to call Caitlin Clark ‘trash’ and a ‘f***ing white girl’ after fouling out last night,” Gaines, a former NCAA Division I swimmer, tweeted.
“Just a reminder: this is who we traded for the Russian Merchant of Death,” she added, referring to Griner’s release from a Russian prison in December 2022 as part of an exchange for notorious international arms dealer Viktor Bout, after she was arrested on drug charges at a Moscow airport.
“Now imagine if Clark had said the inverse.”
Self-professed “survivor” of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Philip Anderson, said: “Caitlin Clark is a fool for bending the knee to these anti white pigs and Britney Griner should be sent back to Russia because that was the worst trade ever.”
Meanwhile, right-wing media pundit Paul Szypula said the WNBA was “trash” for failing to officially address the incident.
“Will the WNBA condemn, fine, and suspend Griner for this racist comment?” he tweeted. “Of course not. The WNBA is trash. Just like Griner.”
However, former ESPN commentator Jemele Hill shared Gaines’ post and argued Griner had not called out Clark.
“I get that your whole personality is caught up in stuff like this, so you don’t care about spreading misinformation,” she rebuffed. “1) the foul call made on her had nothing to do with Caitlin Clark. It was because she fouled Natasha Howard. 2) She clearly says “trash” and “f***ing WACK CALL.”
Former Chicago Bulls star, Ron Harper, tweeted that “they will always test Caitlin Clark, not because she is white, but because she is one of the best players in the WNBA.”
“Stop thinking this is about color,” he added.
Two days after the alleged Clark incident, Griner cut her halftime interview with CBS Sports short on Saturday as the Dream took on the Dallas Wings.
Griner instead spotted the referees walking past and could be heard yelling at them to “be f***ing better.”
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