The Caitlin Clark discourse has reached a new level. This time, the criticism is coming from someone who used to be a fan. Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke has been writing sports for one of the country’s most respected newspapers since 1987.
He is a regular panelist on ESPN, a long-established voice in American sports journalism, and by his own admission, a diehard WNBA fan.
Bill Plaschke Blasts Fever’s Caitlin Clark’s Attitude
He delivered one of the harshest takes on Clark that we’ve seen so far this year. The column, published Sunday in the Los Angeles Times under the headline “Whiny Caitlin Clark’s tired antics needs to end,” did not soften the blow.
“As a diehard WNBA fan and season ticket-holder, it is with great reluctance that I have come to the following painful conclusion. I’m sick of Caitlin Clark,” he wrote.
“I wish Caitlin Clark would just stop whining and play. The logo-shooting, circus-passing, shape-shifting revelation who was once arguably the most famous basketball player in the world has become rude, entitled, and, frankly, not all that fun.”
Plaschke’s specific complaints centered on Clark’s on-court behavior. He described her reacting to a missed layup with a contorted face and a loud whine, pouting over turnovers and missed calls, and immediately demanding challenges from her bench whenever a ball went out of bounds.
The main point he focused on came during a nationally televised game against the Atlanta Dream, when Clark was fouled on a layup and broke into what Plaschke described as a wild, sarcastic cheer after the call was confirmed.
Dream coach Karl Smesko actually challenged the foul, Plaschke suggested, as if he simply wanted Clark to stop. He also accused her of publicly showing up head coach Stephanie White on the sideline.
“In her third season in the WNBA, the once-shining superstar is acting like a spoiled brat. The league’s most popular player has become its biggest lout. Her stats are decent, but her attitude stinks,” Plaschke added.
He concluded the piece with a simple yet powerful statement about the young guard: that “this former teen idol needs to grow up.”
The truth is that both White and Clark have downplayed the heated exchange. Although it made shockwaves across social media over the last week or so, both have clarified that it’s not that big of a deal.
It is no secret that Clark has a fiery attitude and a competitive mindset. She wants to win almost every play and score whenever she gets a chance. The same can be said of White, who has displayed the same attitude since her playing days.
We’ve seen tensions boil over between players and coaches on many occasions in the NBA and WNBA. But it has been different with Clark. The news blew up to a point where her potential exit from Indiana is now a talking point.
She is going viral once again, but for all the wrong reasons recently. Her shooting slump has also been heavily talked about while the Fever struggles to build winning momentum. But the former ROTY has always shown utmost resilience to bounce back in style, and we could surely expect her to do that once again soon.
