There was a time when the mean girls of the WNBA and sports media denied their disdain for Caitlin Clark. “No one dislikes Caitlin. We are just telling the truth,” they’d say.
Now, some of them openly brag about it.
Former ESPN host and failed broadcaster Cari Champion admitted as much this week during a podcast with Jemele Hill.
“That type of blatant favoritism annoys the hell out of me,” Champion said while discussing Clark dismissing the controversy surrounding her late scratch from a home game last week.
“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? It’s, yet again, another example of the league and its fans being so precious with her.”
Champion then admitted she simply doesn’t like Clark as a person.
“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 stated.
And what about the players who target Clark with cheap shots, hard fouls and obvious resentment?
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Specifally, Champion says she dislikes Clark’s “entitlement.”
“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. Because we’re coming at you the same way we could come at anyone else.”
Except you aren’t.
Like most self-appointed WNBA analysts, Champion coddles nearly every player except Clark, including Angel Reese and DiJonai Carrington, both of whom have openly positioned themselves against her.
Amusingly, Champion is best known as Jemele Hill’s sidekick. Yet, in many ways, she is even less likeable.
Hill plays a character. Her outrage toward White athletes, voters and America often feels performative. Off camera, Hill chooses to work with, socialize with, and live around the very people she publicly condemns.
Champion, on the other hand, comes across as genuinely bitter.
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That reputation followed her at ESPN, where colleagues often viewed her as miserable and difficult. She also appears deeply frustrated by her lack of success in sports media.
OutKick reached out to Champion for comment. If she responds, we will update this story.
In recent years, Champion has tried pivoting into political commentary on CNN. The transition has not gone well. She routinely sounds unprepared and uninformed when discussing real-world political issues.
Here’s one example from a debate with a CNN conservative commentator:
Not great.
In many ways, Champion herself comes across as entitled, the exact term she used to vilify Clark.
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Still, we appreciate her admitting she “doesn’t like” Clark. The next time the mean girls insist no one has it out for the Fever guard, we can point to Champion’s own words.
We now know for certain that Cari Champion does.
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