Rusty Weiss
Former ESPN host Cari Champion unleashed a fiery takedown of WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark during a recent episode of her Flagrant & Funny podcast, accusing the Indiana Fever guard of displaying entitlement on the court.
Which is weird when you consider the entire league feels entitled to get more attention than Clark.
Champion, a longtime sports commentator, did not hold back, declaring she doesn’t like the way the 24-year-old behaves and criticizing the league for coddling its marquee talent.
You … you can’t be serious.
“The more we get to catch these glimpses of Caitlin Clark, I’m like, ‘I don’t like you. I don’t like the way you behave on the court,’” Champion said. “And the league is positioning you to be its superstar because you are, and with leadership comes certain responsibility. And if you don’t want that responsibility, I understand that.
“But the way that you behave, this entitlement, the way you are talking to your coaches… you enjoy that. So if that’s what you enjoy, if you want to be the villain, if you want to be the tough person … then let it be,” she continued. “Because we’re coming at you the same way we could come at anyone else. And her fans need to recognize that. Like, she chooses that behavior.”
If she were going for the Dumbest Take of the Year, then Champion just became the frontrunner.
Cari Champion feels Caitlin Clark comes off entitled 👀 pic.twitter.com/9rcz0eA7Ul
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 28, 2026
Cari Champion’s Tone-Deaf Rant Ignores Clark’s Brutal Targeting
Champion also slammed Clark’s dismissive attitude toward a late scratch from a game earlier this month, which resulted in a league warning for violating injury reporting rules. That violation is on the team, not Clark.
“That type of blatant favoritism annoys the hell out of me,” she said. “I don’t know if this is her fault, because I think it might be unfair for me to say that this is her fault. But at the same time, it’s like, why is she getting this special treatment?”
One could write volumes about what Champion “doesn’t know.”
Why Champion’s “Entitlement” Lecture on Caitlin Clark Completely Misses the Point
Champion’s comments come across as tone-deaf. They blatantly ignore the extraordinary physical targeting the Indiana Fever star has faced since day one.
As a rookie, Clark absorbed a staggering 17% of all flagrant fouls called league-wide — an absurd share for a guard — with incidents ranging from shoulder checks and eye pokes to blindside shoves that have contributed to injuries and missed games.
Cheap shots from players like Chennedy Carter, Marina Mabrey, and Jacy Sheldon have been well-documented, yet Champion frames Clark’s responses as the real problem rather than a natural competitive pushback from a star drawing constant extra attention.
Earlier this week, Golden State Valkyries veteran guard Tiffany Hayes appeared to endorse a threat of violence against Clark.
The “villain” and favoritism narrative feels especially misguided when Clark’s production and leadership have elevated the entire league, yet she’s still absorbing disproportionate physicality.
Champion is “entitled” to her opinion, bad as it is. But it’s very clearly spoken by somebody with an agenda who has never played a sport in her life.
