Caitlin Clark denounces fan rhetoric, addresses next contract and backs Fever coach in exit interview

Last Saturday, ESPN's College Gameday returned to Iowa City for the first time in decades, and former Iowa star Caitlin Clark made a special appearance as the guest picker ahead of the Hawkeyes' 31-14 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. As a result, Clark was not in attendance for the Indiana Fever's exit interviews, which took place while she was on TV. Clark has never been one to avoid the media, though, and she returned to Indianapolis on Thursday for her exit interview, which lasted just over 20 minutes and covered a wide range of topics, including fan interactions, Kelsey Mitchell's impending free agency and Clark's own contract extension decision. Here are some key takeaways from what will likely be the last time we'll hear from Clark for months. Clark denounces fans who use her name for 'racist rhetoric or hate'Fan behavior, both in person and online, has been a near-constant topic in the WNBA discourse since Clark entered the league, and it flared up again during Game 2 of the Fever's first-round playoff series with the Las Vegas Aces when A'ja Wilson confronted a fan who had pointed at her after a foul call. Fever general manager Amber Cox stood up for Fever fans during her exit interview last Saturday, saying, "the attacks on our fan base have no basis in reality, and they need to stop, especially from members of the media." A short time later, however, Mitchell, who has spent her entire career in Indiana, stated during her own exit interview that how she's treated by fans has been weighing on her. "Showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard," Mitchell said. "I think this organization is unbelievable, man, but I think that when it comes to, like, really trying to be yourself, it hasn't always been easy."On Thursday, Clark said that hearing Mitchell's comments "makes you upset because you care about your teammates so much, and you don't want any of them to go through something like that." She added that "there is such a microscope on me," which "comes with a lot of really great things, and then at times there can be some negatives." Speaking more generally, Clark denounced any fans who use her name for the wrong reasons. "As far as people that have used me to demonstrate racist rhetoric or hate or discrimination, that's not something I stand for," Clark said. "That's never been something I've stood for. For those of you that know me, that's not what I'm about, that's not how I was raised, so that's really disappointing when people do that."Clark and Fever will recruit Mitchell 'as hard as we can'Mitchell only signed a one-year deal last offseason and will be an unrestricted free agent this winter. There have been plenty of questions about her future, and she said during her exit interview that she will be "selfish" about the process as she enters the back half of her prime. Clark made it clear that she and the organization will do whatever it takes to convince Mitchell to re-sign. "As far as Kelsey and her future with her organization, I think she knows how much I love her. We've talked since the season has ended. There's nobody I would want to share the backcourt with other than her," Clark said. "I think we had the best season of any backcourt in the WNBA in the league's history. I often tell her I feel like I have the best seat in the house every single night. I get to watch you do your thing and be right next to you and be on the other side of the ball with you."Mitchell averaged 24.7 points, the fifth-highest single-season scoring average in WNBA history, scoring a league-record 1,086 total points while leading the league in 3-point percentage (45%). Her 64.5% true shooting was 8.4% above league average and the third-highest ever by a 20-point scorer. Together, she and Clark helped the Fever put up a 115 offensive rating, the best mark in league history. "I know this organization, we're gonna work our butt off to get her back. We're gonna recruit her as hard as we can. Every player that is signed to a contract is gonna recruit her as hard as we can," Clark said. "We need her, we love her and I think more than anything, Kelsey's a really great person, and I love being in the locker room with her. You guys have gotten to know her a little bit. She's just a good soul. This organization and these fans have really rallied around her and have supported her.""More than anything, I hope she comes back here and the arena is chanting MVP for her again. That's what she deserves," Clark continued. "For myself, my number one priority, I hope for the rest of my career I get to play alongside her. That's how easy she makes my job."Clark eligible for EPIC extension, but may take discountThe new collective bargaining agreement included a new provision called "EPIC" (Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract), which allows players to renegotiate the fourth year of their rookie contract and sign a three-year extension. Notably, an EPIC extension makes it possible for players who make an All-WNBA team or win MVP to earn a max salary in what would have been the final year of their rookie deal, rather than having to wait until their rookie deal is complete. Fever center Aliyah Boston signed her EPIC extension (four years, $6.3 million) last offseason, and Clark, who made the All-WNBA First Team in 2024 (and will almost certainly do so again this season), is eligible to sign hers this offseason. While Clark certainly deserves a max deal, she seemed willing to potentially take a discount to help improve the roster alongside herself, Boston, and potentially Mitchell. "Obviously it's great that I have that opportunity. For myself we haven't gotten into roster construction yet. We have to think about things with the cap and what we're gonna need, who we're gonna need to sign and what value they bring to the team," Clark said. "Not saying I'm gonna sign it or not sign it, I think it's just kinda figuring out the way we need to construct our roster. No matter what, I'm gonna be here. I just want to do what's best for the team and make sure we have the opportunity to win championships. That's my main goal."If Clark signs an EPIC extension and the Fever are able to re-sign Mitchell on a supermax, they'd have three players taking up around 60% of the cap. (We don't know the exact 2027 cap number due to the new revenue-sharing model.) While those three are all exceptional players, the Fever have won one playoff series in their three seasons together and Clark and Mitchell, in particular, have overlapping skillsets. Building out a championship roster around them would be difficult with limited flexibility, which Clark clearly recognizes. "I think for myself, my focus is on winning. I certainly know what I deserve and what I'm worth, but at the same time, sometimes you have to make sacrifices," Clark said. "I think those are conversations that I'll have with the front office and ownership about where we want to go and what we need and what sacrifices have to be made or not made, who we can pay, who needs this or who needs that."Clark wants to be involved in roster decisions -- to an extentFew players in the league have as much clout as Clark, and she made it clear that she wants to be involved in the Fever's roster decisions this offseason, but only to an extent. Clark said that having an "open dialogue" with Cox and the front office about free agency, in particular, is the "responsibility of specifically probably me and [Boston] at this point as the two leaders of this team, and then obviously hopefully we get Kelsey back and she can be helping us as well." Clark noted that as players, they hear "rumblings" about what other players are like to have in the locker room, which is helpful information to share with the front office. As are her thoughts about play style and positional need. But, Clark said, "at the end of the day, Amber's the GM and she makes the final call." Additionally, Clark said that she'll be "very involved" in recruiting players to join her in Indianapolis, which was difficult last season because of the CBA negotiations and ultra-condensed free agency process. Clark again backs WhiteFever coach Stephanie White has dealt with relentless criticism in her two years on the job, which she admitted has been difficult to process. "Certainly, my therapist helps. My family helps. I have the luxury of being able to sort of minimize what gets in. But, at the end of the day, nobody likes to be a subject of ugliness from the internet," White said prior to Game 1 against the Aces. "Oftentimes, what happens on the internet then becomes articles in the news now. We didn't used to have that. It used to stay on the internet. It stayed on social media. And so, now, it becomes news."Clark and White have not always had the smoothest on-court relationship. A clip of White going at Clark in a huddle earlier this season went viral, and Clark has gone right back at her coach during games. But the two have always been strident supporters of each other in the media, and that continued Thursday. "I really appreciate Steph. I like to say this is the best job in women's basketball and possibly women's sports, getting to lead this franchise that has so much notoriety, but at the same time it can come with some negatives and people are gonna criticize everything that you can do. That's just the reality, people expect greatness," Clark said. "Personally, my relationship with Steph, she's somebody that's always supported me. It's been really fun getting to play for her," Clark continued. "She just tries to win, she's competitive. She expects great things out of us. She has a fiery passion about her that I really, really admire. I think I have a lot of that in myself too. One of my most special memories of this year is getting to win a gold medal with her in Berlin. That's not something anybody can ever take away from us."