Dakich: sports media has created an ‘industry’ out of complaining about white athletes like Caitlin Clark

Dan Dakich thinks the latest Caitlin Clark complaint is part of a much bigger media problem.

Former ESPN host Cari Champion recently criticized Clark, accusing the Indiana Fever star of receiving favorable treatment from the WNBA and taking issue with the way Clark and her fans carry themselves.

Dakich did not see it that way.

The OutKick host used Champion’s latest Clark criticism to unload on what he sees as a sports media industry built around race-based complaints whenever prominent White athletes or media figures are involved.

"Sports media waits on every single move that a white person makes," Dakich said on Thursday's Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich. "The latest is ‘blatant favoritism.’ Well, it can’t be any farther from the truth when talking about Caitlin Clark and the Fever."

Then Dakich took it a step further.

"But an African-American and failed SportsCenter anchor, Cari Champion, is once again whining about Caitlin Clark," Dakich continued. "I’m telling you, man, there’s an industry for African-Americans to whine about every move — whether it’s Jaxson Dart, whether it’s Caitlin Clark, whether it’s me — of every white person. Y’all are doing pretty good with it."

That was the real point.

Dakich was not just defending Clark from one media personality. He was arguing that Clark has become the latest White athlete to be picked apart through a racial lens by people who realize that attacking white athletes makes them popular among a certain segment of the population.

We also need to acknowledge the obvious: Caitlin Clark is popular because people care about Caitlin Clark.

She sells tickets. She drives television ratings. She brings attention to the WNBA in a way no player ever has. Her games matter in the national sports conversation, and every hard foul, technical, facial expression and postgame comment becomes a debate.

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It's certainly not because the WNBA is protecting her. In most cases, the opposite is generally true.

It's because she is the biggest star the league has ever had. And even that isn't because she's white. It's because she plays basketball in a way that no woman ever really has. Steph Curry isn't popular because he's Black. He's popular because he hits threes unlike anyone in history. Clark brought that to the women's game.

Dakich also ripped Champion directly for her criticism of Clark.

"Cari Champion, who legitimately, if people are being honest — which they can’t — was the worst employee ever at ESPN," Dakich said.

Champion has publicly framed her ESPN exit as a case of being unappreciated (she also blamed racism because, of course).

She announced in 2020 that it was time to leave ESPN, then later claimed the network made her feel like she "didn’t matter."

That is Champion’s version of the story. But people who worked inside ESPN at the time may remember the situation very differently. I worked there, and Champion’s reputation inside the building was not a secret. I was once assigned to produce an ESPN Radio special involving Champion and my supervisor warned me that she was difficult to work with. In my experience, difficult proved to be a massive understatement.

Dakich described the exit in harsher terms.

"Now think about this: a beautiful African-American woman gets fired at ESPN. Have you turned ESPN on? That tells you how horrible Cari Champion is. But good for her, we’re talking about her," the OutKick host said.

Champion is free to dislike Clark. Nobody has to root for the Fever star. Nobody has to pretend every reaction from Clark is perfect.

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But the idea that Clark has received some kind of easy ride from the WNBA is laughable.

Clark has been shoved, grabbed, mocked, criticized and blamed for the alleged behavior of "her" fans. She has also been expected to carry the weight of an entire league’s newfound popularity while veteran players, media members and commentators continue to preach that she doesn't deserve that attention.

That is the part Dakich clearly finds ridiculous.

"She’s claiming the Fever star gets favorable treatment from the league, along with proclaiming that she, Cari Champion — who is the worst of the worst — doesn’t like how she acts or how her fans act," Dakich said. "See, this is an age-old thing. Weren’t we talking about this three years ago? Of course we were."

The names change, but the playbook does not. Dakich brought up Jaxson Dart for a reason.

Dart recently introduced President Donald Trump at a rally in New York, and the reaction from many corners of sports media was as predictable as it was exhausting. The conversation quickly became another referendum on politics, race, and locker-room dynamics.

That is the pattern Dakich was pointing to.

With Dart, it was a White quarterback standing next to Trump. With Clark, it's a White basketball star bringing unprecedented attention to the WNBA. With Dakich, in his view, it's a White media personality saying things the sports media class does not like.

Find the white person. Frame the controversy through race. Pat yourself on the back for being a hero. Devour the praise from like-minded race-hustlers in sports media.

Rinse. Repeat.

Dakich is right that there's an industry built on this pattern, but the more important point he made was this:

"Y’all are doing pretty good with it."

That's exactly why this isn't going to change anytime soon.