WNBA star Kelsey Plum backtracks on Caitlin Clark jab after backlash: 'I made a bad joke'
After the WNBA All-Star game, where many players wore t-shirts that read, "Pay us what you owe us" in reference to the players' union's CBA negotiations with the league, Plum told reporters that players from Clark's All-Star team had not been at a meeting to discuss the shirts.
"But the T-shirt, just, united front, was determined this morning, that we had a meeting for. And, you know, not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that," Plum said.
The comments ignited harsh backlash against Plum, as many fans pointed out that Clark herself had been wearing the t-shirt during the game.
Now, Plum is insisting that her comment was not serious, and referencing that many players were "hung over," the morning of the apparent meeting.
"I made a bad joke. I made a really bad joke, tough one," Plum said during an episode of WNBA legend Sue Bird's podcast "Bird's Eye View."
Plum also said that she "should have known it was a way-more-serious moment."
"I should have like hindsight 2020 because of the shirts, because of the fans, like I should have known it was a way-more-serious moment than a typical All-Star game," Plum said.
"Because I went into that press conference very like, happy-go-lucky, we won. And then had a great weekend, like my family's here, it was just a great time. And so the questions came in, and it was like CBA this, this, this, this, and I honestly… was like, 'Hey like team Clark, like they didn't make it to the meeting either… Trying to make the room lighter."
The protest was the talk of the weekend as players criticized WNBA officials amid the negotiations.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters she believed a deal will get done before the current CBA expires after this season.
"I'm still really optimistic that we'll get something done that would be transformational," she said. "And that, next year at All-Star, we'll be talking about how great everything is. Obviously there's a lot of hard work to be done on both sides to get there."
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