WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark made headlines last weekend when she attended the Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff game against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium.
Sharing a luxury suite with musician Taylor Swift, Clark’s presence caught the attention of ESPN’s cameras, which captured her chatting with Swift during the second half.
The clip quickly went viral, inspiring a wave of memes on social media.
While many fans celebrated Clark’s appearance, sports radio legend Chris “Mad Dog” Russo wasn’t as amused.
On his SiriusXM show this week, Russo aired his grievances about Clark being part of the Chiefs narrative, questioning her authenticity as a Kansas City fan.
“I’ve had enough with Kelce. I’ve had enough with the girlfriend. Now I got Caitlin Clark in the mix,” Russo said. “Who, by the way, I saw Caitlin Clark play, what, 50 games in college basketball the last two years? I never heard one reference. I never saw her father with a Chief jersey on. I never saw her with a Chief hat on. I heard not one reference in 50 games that she was a Chief fan.
“Then all of a sudden now she’s a big Kansas City fan. Come on, stop, please. I understand you want to be a fan because they win, but that was tough to take.”
Russo’s comments, however, didn’t sit well with many sports fans, who rushed to Clark’s defense by highlighting her lifelong allegiance to the Chiefs.
Clark herself has previously shared her deep connection to the team. During an appearance on ESPN’s “Manningcast” in 2023, she explained, “I’ve been a Chiefs fan since I was a young girl.”
Clark explained how her KC fandom runs deep in her family – and always has.
“My brother was a Chiefs fan, my dad was a Chiefs fan. I had cousins in Kansas City that were Chiefs fans. Honestly it was just something all I knew,” she said.
“In our basement, we had a Chiefs vending machine. We had those toy helmets that were Chiefs that you could run around in the yard and I could knock helmets with my brothers.”
Clark also addressed accusations of being a “bandwagon” fan on the Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast earlier this season, even bringing up a childhood photo of herself wearing Chiefs gear.
“People think I’m a bandwagon Chiefs fan. I’m like, ‘No, I was there before Patrick [Mahomes] and Travis [Kelce].’ We were ride-or-die,” she said.
With the Chiefs advancing to the AFC Championship Game this Sunday, Clark will undoubtedly be cheering for her team, though it remains unclear if she will attend the game in person.
In fairness to Russo, he was far from alone in thinking that Clark was just hopping on the bandwagon.
However, unlike a lot of Swift’s friends who are spotted in her suite, Clark is an actual “ride-or-die” Chiefs fan.
What are your thoughts on the backlash that Clark has been getting?
As for Swift, are you on her side? … Or have you gotten sick and tired of seeing her during games???
