Kelsey Plum Throws Major Shade at Caitlin Clark After All-Star Game
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A 151-131 win over Caitlin Clark's team during the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game seemingly wasn't enough for Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum.
The 30-year-old Washington alum also had to get in a shot at one of her counterparts on the opposite team during her postgame news conference following the win.
Players on both teams made the collective decision before the game—just days after in-person negotiations with WNBA officials—to come out and present a united message: the league needs to increase player salaries in the next collective bargaining agreement.
Those players came out for warmups for Saturday's All-Star Game wearing black shirts with the message "Pay Us What You Owe Us" scrolled across the front.
Fans even loudly chanted "pay them" during warmups and during the MVP presentation after.
Kelsey Plum #10 of the Los Angeles Sparks reacts as Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever holds a Lexie Hull #10 shirt prior to the WNBA STARRY 3-Point Contest during the 2025 AT&T WNBA...
Kelsey Plum #10 of the Los Angeles Sparks reacts as Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever holds a Lexie Hull #10 shirt prior to the WNBA STARRY 3-Point Contest during the 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star weekend at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 18, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. MoreMore WNBA: Chicago Sky Send Clear Message to Angel Reese After All-Star Game
And while seemingly everyone was under the impression the shirts were a unanimous decision by every player at the All-Star game, Plum, who's also the vice president on the WNBA players' association, provided some clarity on the situation while also taking a shot at Clark and the rest of her 12-player All-Star roster in the process.
"It was a very powerful moment," Plum said. "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.
"That really needed to be mentioned," New York Liberty guard and fellow All-Star Sabrina Ionescu replied sarcastically.
"I'm just trying to make the situation light, OK?" Plum added. "...But I think it was just all of us getting on the same page before the game. We wanted to do something that was united and collective."
KP: "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: 0 members of Team Clark were very present for that" https://t.co/2fXgaAuqMR pic.twitter.com/awIfnqLjxv — Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) July 20, 2025
More WNBA: Dick Vitale Doesn't Hold Back After WNBA Players' Salary Demand
While Plum's remarks were likely just a light-hearted jab at Clark, who didn't play in Saturday's game as she nurses a right groin injury, some fans took issue with her remarks, calling Plum out on social media for what she said.
"I don't think she meant this in bad faith, but there was also no reason to mention that," one fan wrote.
"I legitimately cannot understand what the goal was for offering that unnecessary bit of information. Like they didn't even ask for it," another fan added.
"See me personally, if I worked in an industry where one of my coworkers was about to increase my earning potential by 500% or more I would simply not attack them every time the chance presented itself," remarked a third fan.
"Taking a shot like this at the player that's the only reason you're in a position to ask for more money is crazy lmao," one user quipped.
"They simply cannot stop dumping on the woman who is single-handedly making the league popular and relevant for the first time. And it's so obviously driven by petty, self-destructive jealously," another user scoffed.
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