WNBA Legend Sue Bird Made Her Opinion Of Caitlin Clark Hate Crystal Clear

Sue Bird doubled down on her belief that the WNBA and its veteran players are not hating on Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.

Ever since Clark entered the league, there's a persistent narrative claiming that the vets and her WNBA peers are jealous of her because of all the attention she's getting. This hate buzz was only further fueled by a number of incidents on the court, including Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter hitting Clark from behind during a game.

Bird, however, argued that she doesn't see the hate at all. Instead, she only sees players being competitive, as they should be, since everyone wants to win and prove themselves.

“Listen, for the remainder of time, Caitlin will go down as the change. The one who made the change, this pivotal person, she will, a hundred percent. But in other leagues, when LeBron came, it wasn’t like, oh, ‘Michael Jordan didn't matter.’ And for some reason, that happened and it caused this whole thing, when the reality was no player felt a way towards Caitlin," the Seattle Storm icon said of Clark's WNBA debut during her appearance on the Good Game with Sarah Spain podcast.

Sue Bird insisted that "everybody was very welcoming" and "inviting" to Caitlin Clark, but the fans "mistook competitive talk with hating on somebody."

The WNBA legend did point out that "there is a thin line" between being competitive and hating, and admittedly, "some people do both and some people swing back and forth." Nonetheless, she expressed her belief that most players in the league were just showing their competitive side.

"I think the majority of WNBA players with their play, with their talk, it was just competition. Not hate for a person," Bird added.

For what it's worth, Clark has adjusted pretty well in the WNBA despite the extra physicality from her opponents. She understands that other players always want to do well against her because of her popularity, but it hasn't bothered her at all.

Through 26 games before the WNBA break, Clark has averaged 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. She was selected as an All-Star and has already earned two Rookie of the Month awards.

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