Caitlin Clark Responds After Megyn Kelly Attacks Her Comments on White Privilege as ‘Fake’

“One of my best skills is just blocking things out,” Clark said at an event in New York City on Dec. 11

Caitlin Clark had a strong response to Megyn Kelly‘s criticism about her recent comments regarding white privilege in the WNBA.

After 22-year-old Clark — who was just named Time’s Athlete of the Year — said in her interview with the magazine that she’s aware “there is privilege” as a white player in the league, Kelly, 54, called Clark’s statements “condescending” and “fake” in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

A day later, Clark spoke at the “A Year in Time” event in New York City, where NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor asked her about Kelly’s criticism — and how she handles the pressure of heavy topics coming down on her “shoulders.”

“I feel like I’ve always had a really good perspective on everything thats happened in my life,” Clark told Taylor.

The Indiana Fever star went on to reiterate her comments made in the Time article, telling Taylor, “I feel like I’ve earned every single thing thats happened to me over the course of my career, but also, I grew up a fan of this league from a very young age.”

Noting that her favorite player growing up was Minnesota Lynx great Maya Moore, a Black woman, Clark continued, “I know what this league was about and, like I said, it’s only been around 25-plus years, so I know that theres been so many amazing Black women that have been in this league, and continuing to uplift them is very important and that’s something I’m very aware of.”

“I think I’m very comfortable in my own skin and thats kind of been how it is my entire life,” Clark added.

The WNBA’s 2024 rookie of the year explained, “One of my best skills is just blocking things out.”

Clark said that ultimately, she just tries to “be real and authentic” and that the “only opinions” she cares about are the ones from “people that I love, my teammates, my coaches,” and the “people I see every single day.”

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Finding a silver lining in Kelly’s criticism, Clark suggested that the attention, even negative, is good for the WNBA. “With the way things are going, with the way the WNBA is going, you want that attention and you embrace it,” Clark told Taylor.