By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-03 15:53:29 | Updated at 2024-10-06 00:27:33
2 days ago
USA Today columnist and Caitlin Clark biographer Christine Brennan does not regret asking Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington about poking the Indiana Fever rookie in the eye - a query characterized as 'racist' by the WNBA players' union.
Speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper amid the ongoing controversy, Brennan insisted she would not hesitate to ask the question again. Specifically, Brennan explained, she wanted to give Carrington a chance to hit back at critics who accused her f intentionally poking Clark's eyeball during last week's playoff opener.
'The best thing I can do as a journalist is to try to give the athlete an opportunity, which I've done tens of thousands of times, to answer the question and tell us what she believes happened,' Brennan told Tapper. 'That was literally it.
'And as you know, first of all I'd ask that question 100 times out of 100, I'd ask it today, the athlete has every opportunity to then take that question and go with it any way she wants,' Brennan continued. 'And obviously she did. So that's the opportunity that I think any journalist gives an athlete when you're covering a story, to give them the opportunity to give their side of it.'
Carrington said she did not deliberately poke Clark in the eye and, although cameras caught her giggling with teammates shortly after the incident, the Sun guard insists that laughter had nothing to do with Clark. Furthermore, Clark has also dismissed the eye poke as unintentional.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives to the basket defended by Sun guard DiJonai Carrington
Christine Brennan speaks at the 'SiriusXM Business Radio Broadcasts' in 2016
But while Carrington answered Brennan's questions without complaint, the WNBA players' union responded with a scathing statement directed at the famed columnist.
'To unprofessional members of the media like Christine Brennan: You are not fooling anyone,' read the WNBPA statement.
'That so-called interview in the name of journalism was a blatant attempt to bait a professional athlete into participating into a narrative that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic, and misogynistic vitriol on social media. You cannot hide behind your tenure.
'You have abused your privileges and do not deserve the credentials issued to you.'
Despite the criticism, Brennan did not attack the players' union or any individuals for that matter.
She instead focused on the league's ability to withstand the current controversy over allegations of racism and bigotry directed at players over issues of race and sexual orientation.
'Is the league ready to handle some of this scrutiny?' Brennan asked. 'That's a question I would ask and say 'yes they are' because these are wonderful women who have been in this spotlight for a long time.'
Brennan acknowledges that the controversy has 'touched a nerve' but insists she would ask the same question of male athletes like 'Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps.'
The part that's worrying her is that the expectation for journalists to ask tough question is being replaced with a safe space for athletes, who want to go unchallenged.
No foul was called despite the contact leaving the 22-year-old in agony on the floor
'Are they saying we cannot ask tough questions or in this case, not even a tough question, just a fair question of a female athlete?' Brennan said.
Brennan, a 66-year-old sportswriting pioneer, has been defended by scores of journalists since the controversy began, including some from both sides of the political divide. For instance, liberal Keith Olbermann and conservative Jason Whitlock have both condemned the WNBPA for their statement.
That continued Wednesday with Tapper, who was quick to explain Brennan's elevated place within women's sports.
'Whoever wrote that statement for the WNBA players union should probably read a little bit more about Christine Brennan before accusing her of buying into anything having to do with homophobia or racism or sexism because those are horrible blights on our culture that you have been fighting against for decades,' Tapper said.
Furthermore, USA Today released a statement saying the newspaper rejects 'the notion that the interview perpetuated any narrative other than to get the players' perspective directly.'
