‘Stick to basketball’: Conservatives get mad at WNBA superstar for liking Taylor Swift’s endorsement post
Taylor Swift’s Instagram post in support of Kamala Harris has sparked reactions on both ends of the political spectrum, with the Dems rallying behind her while Republicans have resorted to cheap and creepy comments.
The post has seen considerable activity since it went up on the social media website, receiving more than 10 million likes and counting. Some of these reactions are from like-minded celebrities who excel in different spheres. One of them is Caitlin Clark, a bona fide superstar in the WNBA.
Clark liking Swift’s post has clearly not sat well with Trump supporters, who are flooding Clark’s Instagram, leaving hateful messages and harassing her for merely giving an indirect indication of her political choices. The reactions range from asking her to “stick to basketball,” which is usually the go-to response keyboard warriors have whenever an athlete makes a political statement of any sort, to threats of burning her jersey and pulling their support.
Clark’s reaction to Swift’s post doesn’t necessarily give an idea of her political leanings, as it can just be an innocent digital approval from her side for her favorite pop star. A self-proclaimed “Swiftie,” Clark was asked about the incident during the pre-game availability before the Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces game, and this is what she had to say:
“I think for myself, having this amazing platform, the biggest thing I would encourage people to register to vote—this is the second election I can vote—that’s the same thing Taylor did.”
Caitlin Clark/ESPN
Clark continued, stressing the importance of researching well about the candidates and urging everyone to exercise their rights:
“I think continue to educate yourself about the candidates that we have and the policies that we’re supporting, I think that’s the biggest thing you can do and I would recommend that to every single person that has that opportunity in our country.”
Caitlin Clark/ESPN
It is important to note that at no point does Clark directly endorse Harris during her interview, clearly wanting to keep her political inclination private. Her Team USA teammates have been quite vocal on that front, with senior player Breanna Stewart publicly endorsing the Democratic candidate during the Paris Olympics, citing voting rights and reproductive rights as the two issues that were important to the squad.
The WNBA has a long history of getting involved in political matters, which includes the league coming together to stand for the Black Lives Matter movement during its peak. The league’s player association also united to support Rev. Raphael Warnock for one of the U.S. Senate seats in Georgia against former Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler, a well-known Republican.
The league’s collective efforts towards sending a strong message against issues like racism, gender equality, and more have been well documented and stand out in a world where a majority of high-profile athletes choose to remain silent on these topics.
Clark, meanwhile, is likely to remain unaffected by the ridiculous conservative hate around her and is on her way to potentially receiving the Rookie of the Year award, averaging 19 points and 8 assists a game in the WNBA this season.
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