Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark walked out with country artist Morgan Wallen during his May 10 concert at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The appearance came hours after the Fever\u2019s 107-104 loss to the Dallas Wings, in which Clark recorded 20 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.<\/p>\n
Wallen faced criticism in 2021 after a video showed him using a racial slur, for which he later apologized.<\/p>\n
Some WNBA fans and commentators questioned Clark\u2019s participation in the concert walkout tradition, citing Wallen\u2019s history and the league\u2019s predominantly Black player base.<\/p>\n
Commentator Jemele Hill recently addressed the backlash and appeared to take an unexpected stance.<\/p>\n
She asked why Clark received criticism when male athletes, including Peyton Manning, Travis Kelce, Myles Garrett, Marshawn Lynch, and Patrick Mahomes, had performed the same walkout with Wallen without a similar reaction.<\/p>\n
\nOn the latest episode of SPOLITICS Live, I ask why Caitlin Clark is getting smoke for walking out with country star Morgan Wallen at his concert when Peyton Manning, Travis Kelce, Myles Garrett, Marshawn Lynch, and many other male athletes have done the exact same thing\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Hill stated that policing entertainment choices leads to hypocrisy because no one meets a strict purity test. She noted that other WNBA players had attended concerts by artists with controversial histories, including Chris Brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that we want to play this game about policing people\u2019s entertainment. Because I\u2019m telling you nobody gonna hold up,\u201d Hill said on the Flagrant and Funny\u00a0podcast<\/a>. \u201cA lot of people in the same discourse, they unearthed photos and tweets about WNBA players going to see Chris Brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody has a problematic favorite, as I call them. And that\u2019s why I said like, I don\u2019t know that people wanna play this game of getting into policing people\u2019s entertainment because I promise you, everybody\u2019s a hypocrite. No one is gonna hold up to the level and to the purity test that a lot of people wanna employ on others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hill\u2019s comments suggest a double standard in responses to athletes\u2019 personal activities.<\/p>\n