Riley Gaines and Jemele Hill in furious social media spat over Caitlin Clark and trans athlete Lia Thomas

Sports commentators from opposite echo chambers, Jemele Hill and Riley Gaines, are amid a social-media quarrel with the impetus being Caitlin Clark’s comments on race playing a role in her success. 

As part of winning TIME Magazine’s Athlete of the Year, Clark gave a wide-ranging interview discussing many parts of her rise to fame, including how race has played a role in her status. 

‘I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a White person, there is privilege,’ Clark said to TIME. ‘A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important.’ 

Gaines, who rose to fame as an All-American swimmer at Kentucky and actively has rallied against transgender athletes participating in women’s sports including competitor Lia Thomas, took issue with Clark’s statement. Gaines now works with OutKick and hosts their Gaines for Girls podcast.

‘No one was asking for Caitlin Clark to position herself as a right-wing hero. All she needed to do was remain neutral,’ Gaines said on social media. ‘She’s a phenom who inspires countless young girls to play & achieve, so I still have great admiration for her, but she missed the mark on this one.’

Questioning how Clark missed the mark with an opinion, Hill replied to Gaines, as Clark’s comments had been criticized by others in conservative media.

‘You holler all the time about supporting and “protecting” women, and yet the moment that Caitlin Clark expresses appreciation and respect for the Black women in the WNBA (many of whom she grew up watching and idolizing), suddenly you’re acting like a disappointed parent,’ Hill added. ‘Chile, you could not tell on yourself any louder.’ 

And thus, the spat between the former college athlete who stumped for President-elect Donald Trump, and the former ESPN talent who was suspended from the network at one time for calling then-sitting President Trump a ‘racist’ was off and running. 

‘”White privilege” in the WNBA is literally hilarious. Maybe you’re like Sunny Hostin & think CC also has tall privilege, pretty privilege, and straight privilege. There’s lots of black players in the WNBA I love & respect too, but I don’t admire them because they’re black. I admire them for their game. That’s the difference,’ Gaines replied. 

Hostin, best known for being a panelist on ABC’s ‘The View’ previously insisted Clark is popular due to her appearance and race.

‘You’re intentionally missing the point,’ Hill retorted to Gaines. ‘White privilege is real, and sports is no exception. CC is self aware enough to understand that Black women who have accomplished things similar to what she has haven’t received the same marketing and endorsement opportunities.’

‘Prior to this year, every WNBA player who had their own shoe was white. For a long time, even when Serena Williams was the no 1 player in the world, Maria Sharapova made more money than her in endorsements because Serena wasn’t considered a “fit” for high end brands. What’s funny is that you can see the inequities that women face if they’re white and for some reason, you want to play dumb when it’s Black women.’

Gaines then posted a previous interview Hill did with the Los Angeles Times, pulling out some excerpts from the piece. 

‘This you? Saying Caitlin Clark’s race and sexuality make her “problematic”??? Clark isn’t the problem. She’s the solution,’ Gaines said. Being a long-standing professional race baiter must be SO exhausting.’

Hill may have taken Gaines’ last sentence, which has been repeated constantly from her detractors, as a low blow. So, Hill fired back.  

‘Girl, you need to thank Lia Thomas every day of your life for helping you get famous, otherwise you would have been just a decent college swimmer that no one knew. You wrote the book on grifting – not me,’ Hill said. 

‘I notice you didn’t post the original LA Times piece my comments appeared in that provided the entire context of my remarks. Instead, you posted an opinion piece that intentionally misrepresented what I said. In the same article I called her a generational talent and the female Steph Curry. If you struggle with reading AND comprehension, just say that.’

‘How deeply regressive & utterly misogynistic for Jemele Hill to tell me to thank a man for the platform I have. Thank him for what? Violating us in the locker room? Stealing a national title from a deserving woman? Indirectly stripping us of our 1A rights? Just say you hate women, @jemelehill,’ Gaines shot back. 

Thomas, won a national championship in women’s swimming under the NCAA banner in 2022, the first transgender athlete to do so. World Aquatics later banned her from competing in women’s swimming events.

‘I didn’t ask for the platform I have. I’d have been just fine being a decent college swimmer, married to my best friend, and pursuing dentistry. Sounds like a dream to me,’ Gaines continued. 

‘I’ve faced threats and violent attacks for my stance. You’ve got to be clinically insane to desire that for yourself. I do what I do because it’s the right thing and at the time, few were. So I’ll ask you directly, do you believe men belong in women’s sports?’

Hill has not directly replied to Gaines’ most-recent pair of messages on social media, but has continued replying to those believing she is in the wrong.  

Gaines was also recently in the headlines, supporting San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser, who is also attempting to block the NCAA allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, a direct shot at her Spartans’ teammate Blaire Fleming. 

The NCAA has not punished San Jose State for playing Fleming, meaning she and the school have followed the proper protocols for her involvement in sports. 

Clark’s popularity has put every word she says under a microscope. The Indiana Fever star has not posted herself about the social-media spat.  

Fellow women’s basketball star and UConn guard Paige Bueckers said similar comments about uplifting Black women in basketball in the past at the 2021 ESPYs, when she won the award show’s female college athlete of the year. 

Bueckers, who will turn pro in 2025, has not been criticized to the level the WNBA Rookie of the Year has been, possibly due to the standing of the sport three years ago compared to present day, mainly thanks to Clark.