Do we like them?

Do we like Caitlin Clark?

Our score: 8 out of 10. Decent record, charity work and a clear no to hate in her name, held back by one contested appearance with Morgan Wallen.

Caitlin Clark is a Des Moines kid who grew up playing everything and, with few girls' options around, started on an all-boys team in primary school. At Dowling Catholic in West Des Moines she scored 60 in one game as a junior, was Gatorade Player of the Year twice and finished with 2,547 career points.

The loudest drama this year has been on court. In June she copped criticism over a heated exchange with Fever coach Stephanie White, and she answered it plainly: “The fire and the passion, that's what makes me me.” She also added “I'm human too, I'm not perfect.” That reads as a competitor owning her edge, not a pattern of mistreating people.

The harm check starts with her rookie year, when people claiming to defend her pushed racist, sexist and homophobic comments, according to the Guardian. Clark told reporters in 2024 that people should not use her name to push those agendas and called it “not acceptable”. In October 2026 she said again that racist rhetoric and discrimination are “not something I stand for”.

The asterisk is the Morgan Wallen walkout. On 9 May 2026, hours after the Fever lost their opener, Clark walked out with Wallen at his Indianapolis concert. Wallen was recorded using a racial slur in 2021, and some fans objected. Fox News found no comment from Clark on it, and defenders pointed out other athletes have done the same. Where you land depends on whether you see one cameo or an endorsement.

Her other recent work is basketball, endorsements and TV, and nothing we found links her to anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns, conspiracy theories or climate denial. The Indiana Fever's Pride post copped heat from conservative outlets, but that was the team's post, not hers. That is the whole harm record: thin on bad, with one contested photo op.

The good stuff is real. In January 2025 her foundation gave $22,000 in grants to four Iowa charities: the University of Iowa Children's Hospital, a food pantry, the Boys and Girls Club of the Corridor and Special Olympics Iowa. She tied it to the community that backed her at Iowa.