Caitlin Clark’s first week in the 2026 WNBA was far from what she would have expected. Her team faced a daunting home defeat at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse against the Dallas Wings in the opener. And when it seemed that it can’t get worse, it certainly did. Right after the game, the Fever guard attended Morgan Wallen’s “Still The Problem” tour, raising dissent against her. Now, amid this, a former ESPN host has shared her two cents in this regard.
Speaking on her Flagrant and Funny podcast, Jemele J Hill boldly claimed that this dissent against Clark just doesn’t hold up, emphasizing that people are hypocritical and don’t live up to their own standards. “I don’t know that we want to play this game about policing people’s entertainment. Because I’m telling you nobody gonna hold up,” Hill said. “A lot of people in the same discourse, they unearthed photos and tweets about WNBA players going to see Chris Brown.”
“Everybody has a problematic favorite, as I call them. And that’s why I said like, I don’t know that people wanna play this game of getting into policing people’s entertainment because I promise you, everybody’s a hypocrite. No one is gonna hold up to the level and to the purity test that a lot of people wanna employ on others.”
Of course, Clark’s appearance on the Wallen show as a celebrity walkout guest at the Lucas Oil Stadium was quite surprising. From a collaborative perspective, it might feel like a perfect association between Indianapolis’ music culture and basketball.
And the show was quite appealing, with Clark entering the stage with the country artist to Wallen’s “Broadway Girls” in the background. But it’s Wallen’s old records that flip the conversation more or less against Clark.
Wallen’s incident of using racist words during a video recording in 2021 is well-known in the music scene. It was the same incident that led to his suspension from Big Loud Records. Wallen later apologized for the same. But after Clark’s association with the artist last week, most of the emotions echo that the fans aren’t over that 2021 episode.
And, quite naturally, Clark came under fire for this walkout gesture, even after the fact, when it was quite established that he is a big fan of country music.
This entertainment quotient is something that Hill feels shouldn’t be subjected to moral policing. The source’s dissent against Caitlin Clark is quite understandable and can be questioned. But Hill feels that the standards people set, like those in CC, are fragile and, in essence, hypocritical.
But WNBA players like Paige Bueckers and even top-tier women’s basketball coaches like Dawn Staley have also attended concerts by artists with questionable pasts, such as Chris Brown. This again echoes the sentiment that Clark’s boundary is a bit too thin at times.
In fact, there are plenty of athletes who have walked out with Morgan Wallen at his shows over the years.
Caitlin Clark Adds to a List Featuring Patrick Mahomes to Grace Morgan Wallen’s Concert
One of the major templates of Morgan Wallen’s show is the guest appearance of top athletes. Ever since his 2024 concert tour, we’ve seen him rope in legendary athletes. NFL Legend Patrick Mahomes and Boxing icon Tyson Fury both graced the floors of his show that year.
In connection with their appearances before Clark’s latest outing, Fox News summed up the emotions in near-perfect terms.
“Patrick Mahomes, Myles Garrett, Marshawn Lynch, and Mike Tyson have all done so during Wallen’s tour. Yet there was no such outrage when they did it,” Fox News has shared in a piece.
It isn’t just restricted to these individuals, as Clark isn’t the only Indiana hooper to be associated with Wallen, too. In 2024, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton also made an entry, along with Wallen, to the latter’s “One Night At A Time” concert, along with Pat McAfee at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Thus, with so many top athletes already gracing Morgan Wallen’s show, the growing discomfort noise around Caitlin Clark might seem an overexaggeration in this regard. For CC, she must keep everything in the back seat for now.
The Fever Guard has an immensely important season ahead of her. And, more significantly, her team has a few important games to win. Her team is yet to open its account this season after the loss to the Dallas Wings.
And their next opponent is a veteran-laden LA Sparks that has Kelsey Plum and Nneka Ogwumike. As a result, Clark needs to emphasize her basketball skills more rather than her off-court endeavors.
