Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas blasts racial bias in WNBA (2024)

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Legendary sports announcer Bob Costas blasted the racial bias among WNBA fans in light of incidents involving rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

During their teams' first meeting in the WNBA season, Reese's teammate Chennedy Carter body-checking Clark resulted in a ton of backlash.

While many complained about opponents targeting the rookie sensation, Costas called out the lack of outrage when Reese was on the receiving end of a worse foul on May 25. While going up for a rebound, Connecticut Sun player Alyssa Thomas grabbed the former LSU star by the neck - as a result, Reese slammed her back on the hardwood.

'The reason why that doesn't spark as much conversation isn't just that Caitlin Clark is a bigger star than Alyssa Thomas,' Costas said on CNN on Monday.

'It's because it's a Black on Black incident, and you don't have that dynamic that people can comment on, yes, but also exaggerate and make the entire story sometimes.'

Thomas' foul on Reese resulted in a flagrant-2 and an ejection, which Costas pointed out in the same segment. On the other hand, Carter got charged with a common foul - which was later upgraded to a flagrant-1 - after aggressively ramming her shoulder on Clark's back.

Cari Champion - who was also in the segment - praised Costas for acknowledging the problem and added emphasis to his argument.

'No one cared about the WNBA when women of a certain color were beating up and bruising each other because it's been happening since the league's inception,' Champion stated.

'We have the star, this person that people love. They wanna protect her, so now the new fans, new analysts, and new people have so much to say.'

'I've seen it in every sport,' Costas responded. 'A newcomer is tested and to some extent resented.'

Carter's foul on Clark gained another layer when a clip showed Reese getting up and cheering for her teammate after the body check.

Clark and Reese shared a heated rivalry in the NCAA while playing for Iowa and LSU, respectively. The pair went 1-1 in postseason meetings, with Reese getting the upper hand in the championship game in 2023. On the other hand, Clark routed LSU with a 41-point performance in the Elite 8 in April before losing to South Carolina in the title game.

Nevertheless, Clark's scoring prowess launched her to stardom and eventually to being the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. Upon her entry, Clark brought the WNBA's viewership and fanbase to new heights.

Despite her immediate impact, not all were pleased as some cried 'favoritism' from the league towards their new star.

Amid the discussions and debates around Clark and the league, ESPN's Pat McAfee chimed in with his take.

'Just call it for what it is, there's one white b**** who is a superstar,' McAfee urged media members.

After pointing out all the positives and achievements Clark achieved over her college career, McAfee shut down the racial narrative surrounding Clark's popularity.

'We have to hear people say we only like her because she's white. That's a bunch of bulls***,' he added. 'We think the WNBA, more specifically the refs, need to stop screwing her over every single turn. What you have is something special, and we're lucky she's here.'

WNBACaitlin Clark