Nancy Armour defends Caitlin Clark column after backlash
Nancy Armour said an Emmett Till comparison lacked context but stood by her Caitlin Clark column’s warning about WNBA player safety.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
The Nancy Armour Caitlin Clark controversy is still burning after the USA Today columnist defended the central point of her column while acknowledging that one comparison in it was poorly handled.
Armour wrote this week about Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark in a USA Today column headlined, “Caitlin Clark’s flopping isn’t just annoying, it’s becoming dangerous.” In the piece, Armour argued that Clark’s reactions to contact and non-calls could create safety risks for Black and queer players in the WNBA.
Flopping, in basketball terms, refers to exaggerating or selling contact in hopes of drawing a foul. Armour’s column connected Clark’s on-court reactions to a broader discussion about how WNBA players are treated by fans and online audiences.
Why is Nancy Armour facing backlash over Caitlin Clark?
The column drew sharp criticism from sports fans and media figures, according to TMZ, with detractors calling Armour’s argument excessive and unfair to Clark.
The strongest reaction centered on Armour’s reference to Emmett Till, the Black teenager murdered in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman. Armour addressed that part of the column on Thursday.
“In my recent column, I made an inartful comparison with the murder of Emmett Till,” Armour wrote. “I intended to connect the issues the WNBA is currently facing with its All-Star Game being hosted in Till’s hometown of Chicago. I obviously did not provide enough context for that.”
Armour did not withdraw her broader argument. In the same statement, she said the concern she raised remains valid.
“However, this point stands: There is a history in this country of perceived threats to white women being weaponized against African-Americans, and the danger that poses to Black players in the league,” Armour wrote. “Players have been abused online and have reported receiving death threats. That has to be taken more seriously.”
What did Armour say her column was about?
Armour said she was trying to link current tensions around the WNBA with the league’s All-Star Game being held in Chicago, which she described as Till’s hometown. Her clarification focused on the context she said was missing from the original comparison.
The dispute lands in the middle of an already intense spotlight on Clark, whose arrival in the WNBA has brought outsized attention to the Indiana Fever and to league debates over officiating, physical play and fan behavior.
Clark has been at the center of multiple viral conversations about contact on the court. A post on X from Jon Root, embedded by TMZ, claimed Clark had been “punched in the throat” and stepped on by Alyssa Thomas with no foul called.
Armour’s response may not end the blowback, but it draws a clear line around her position: she says the Emmett Till comparison needed more context, while her warning about online abuse and threats toward Black WNBA players remains the point she wanted taken seriously.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.