Nearly a month after Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum’s unintentional and controversial job at Indiana Fever cornerstone guard Caitlin Clark following the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, the former Washington star clarified her comments on a recent appearance on Sue Bird’s “Bird’s Eye View” podcast, which was released on Friday.
On the popular podcast, Plum spoke with Bird about a variety of topics, including the remarks she made in jest after the July 19 WNBA All-Star Game about the Players’ Association’s decision to wear “Pay Us What You Owe Us” warmup T-shirts before and after the event as part of the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the league.
Plum, who played for captain Napheesa Collier’s winning team against Team Caitlin Clark, said in a postgame news conference following the All-Star Game, “The T-shirt, just [a] united front, was determined this morning, that we had a meeting for. And, uh, not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that.”
While sitting beside Team Clark member Sabrina Ionescu during the news conference, the New York Liberty star joked back, “That really needed to be mentioned.”
“I’m trying to make the situation light, OK?” Plum responded. “But I think it was just all of us getting on the same page before the game. I thought that was a powerful moment and got the point across.”Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.
The comments created a social media firestorm as many fans viewed Plum’s comments as an insult to the former Hawkeye, as Clark was unable to participate in the All-Star Game due to a right groin injury suffered just a few days prior.
When Bird asked if Plum wanted to clarify her comments, the eight-year guard said she was simply trying to make a joke, which clearly did not land.
“Oh, I made a bad joke. Yeah, I made a real bad joke. Tough one,” Plum stated.
Plum continued by admitting she had consumed a few alcoholic beverages prior to the postgame interview, which had caused her to misjudge the situation.
“And I should have — like, hindsight’s 20/20 — because of the shirts, because of the fans … I should have known it was a way more serious moment than a typical All-Star Game. Because I went into that press conference very, like, happy-go-lucky, we won, you know?” Plum added.
Even though Plum did not intend any harm to Clark with her statements, she finished by explaining that it is difficult to make effective comments when fans and personalities take offense on social media and distort players’ words into different narratives.
“And if you do, you seem defensive,” Plum said. “So you just have to let it go.”
Whether Plum’s explanation satisfies the Clark fan base is still to be determined, but it does appear that no escalation between the two will arise in the near future related to the topic.
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