Kelsey Plum Calls Out Team Clark. Then She Revealed Who Skipped the Protest Meeting

Tensions have been running high at the WNBA, but not because of historic rivalries. Instead, the animosity seems to be centered more around a lack of unity. Recently, the WNBA has come together to protest the lack of fair pay. According to the players, they are not receiving fair pay compared to the league’s earnings.

This has sparked controversy and led to athletes coming together in solidarity to raise awareness. But during the postgame press conference after the WNBA All-Star game on Saturday, things got a little awkward.

Plum Speaks Her Mind At The Post Game Conference

At the press conference, Plum, who is also the vice president of the WNBA’s player association, revealed a few facts about their pregame protest meeting. According to Plum, a meeting was held before the game to discuss raising awareness towards their cause. The meeting was scheduled to take place between the two teams, featuring Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark, along with their respective 12-player squads.

Plum said that no one from Caitlin Clark’s team showed up for the meeting, so the ‘Pay What You Owe Us’ shirts were not discussed. Plum Said, “It was a very powerful moment. As players, we didn’t know that that was going to happen. It was a genuine surprise. The T-shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale: zero members of Team Clark were very present for that.”

Fellow All-Star and guard for the New York Liberty, Sabrina Ionescu, who was speaking next to Plum at the press conference, chimed in, “That really needed to be mentioned,” clearly caught off-guard by the remarks. Ionescu was part of Clark’s All-Star squad.

Plum went on to explain her statemen:

I’m trying to make the situation light, OK. I think it was just all of us getting on the page before the game and we wanted to do something that was just united and collective. I thought that was a very powerful moment and it got the point across. And sometimes, you don’t have to say anything.

While it was the player venting out her frustrations, many debated if it was the right time or place to do it.

Old Rivalry Bias Or Genuine Frustration? Here’s What Fans Think

The comment got mixed reactions overall. While some praised the All-Star guard for laying bare all the facts, others mentioned how it was abrupt and out of place. An old clip of an interaction between Kelsey Plum and Caitlin Clark resurfaced, which shows Plum aggressively trying to block Clark at an All-Star game last year.

Now, is this just one player bearing a grudge against another? Or were her claims substantiated and something that needed to be said?

Several fans commented about how it wasn’t right of Plum to throw fellow league players under the bus like that. If the players want to get their wages raised, they’ll need to show a united front, and this is far from it.

While Clark is yet to comment on the situation, it should be noted that she was unable to play the All-Star game. She played throughout the week, but due to an unfortunate groin injury, she had to sit out the game on Saturday. Going forward, the players are still vocal about their demands for fair wages as they try to convince the board of the same.