Barack Obama offered Caitlin Clark a brief but heartfelt message of encouragement Friday, urging the Indiana Fever star not to let the “nonsense” surrounding her WNBA career “get you down.”
The former president met with several of the league’s top players ahead of Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago.
When Obama noticed Clark during the visit, he headed straight toward the rookie guard and delivered a pointed show of support.
His remarks appeared to come in defense of Clark, who has remained at the center of intense scrutiny and criticism from around the league during her high-profile first WNBA season.
“Oh, hey! Caitlin! How are you? Really nice to meet you. You’re great. You’re fantastic. Don’t let all this nonsense get you down,” Obama told her.
Barack Obama told Caitlin Clark not to let the “nonsense” around the WNBA “get you down”
The former president spotted Clark while visiting practice ahead of the WNBA All-Star Game
Clark responded: “It’s crazy, yeah. I appreciate it.”
Obama then continued: ‘You know, I always say one of the things that was luckiest for me was I didn’t get famous until I was like 45. So I was an old a** man.
‘I mean, you’re my daughters’ age. They’ve not had much, you know, immersion in nonsense. So don’t lose that joy. The game’s like the game and you’re a hooper.’
‘I try, sometimes,’ Clark responded.
‘No, you’re always hooping! And you’re on a nice little run right now,’ Obama concluded.
Clark then asked if Obama would mind getting a picture with her and he happily agreed before they posed for the cameras together.
Addressing her encounter with Obama later on, Clark said: ‘He complimented me for how I handle everything obviously with everything going on… he reminded me “when I got famous in my 40s I didn’t have to do it in my 20s”… it’s definitely a moment I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life.’
It comes after Clark admitted she is ’emotionally exhausted’ and drained by the non-stop controversy surrounding her, opening up in a candid interview about the constant off-court noise and on-court hostility.
The Fever guard confessed that the relentless media chatter and physical altercations leave her shoulders tense every time she steps out of the locker room.
Alyssa Thomas ignited outrage after she was seen punching Clark in the neck during a game
‘When I walk out of the locker room, I shouldn’t be not fearful of what the conversation is gonna be… it’s emotionally exhausting. It’s draining,’ Clark confessed.
‘It makes your shoulders tense. Because, you know, people don’t wanna talk about the basketball. They just wanna stir it up and make something else,’ she told SportsCenter.
Addressing the recent physical clash with Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, who delivered a strike to Clark’s throat during a heated sequence, the 24-year-old gave a brutally honest assessment of the foul.
‘It seems like there’s always a moment like that in every season that I’ve played so far,’ Clark admitted. ‘And I think for myself, like I just try to navigate it the best I can. It gets exhausting. It gets frustrating.’
Beyond the physical fouls on the hardwood, the former No. 1 overall pick took direct aim at reporters and bloggers who fabricate false narratives about her character without taking the time to know her.
‘I think there’s just like a false characterization of who I am sometimes,’ Clark said.
‘And I get it like as a reporter or as a blogger, like you can write an opinion piece and that’s your job and whatever. But at the same time, like you don’t know me. Like we’ve never had a conversation.’
While acknowledging the media has a job to perform, Clark urged critics to stop attacking her personal character when they have no genuine insight into who she is behind closed doors.
Clark has admitted she is ’emotionally exhausted’ and drained by the non-stop controversy
‘I get people have a job to do. But at the same time, like don’t make accusations about my character and who I am when you don’t know me,’ she urged.
‘I understand this is your job and this is your profession, and this is what you get to do. And basketball is my profession, what I get to do.’
Concluding with an emotional defense of her love for the game, Clark made it clear that no amount of outside drama will ruin her childhood dream of competing at the highest level.
‘The reason I play it is when I step in between the lines, I love it. And that’s what’s so fun about it for me is like, I get to compete,’ Clark declared. ‘This was always my dream. And nobody should ever try to take that away from me.’
