WNBA Fans Are Furious With David Dennis Jr.'s Claim About Caitlin Clark

It only took one appearance on "First Take" for ESPN senior writer David Dennis Jr. to aggravate every Indiana Fever fan.

Since entering the WNBA in 2024, Caitlin Clark has dealt with plenty of hard fouls, including a hit to the throat from Alyssa Thomas. She was also kept off the 2024 Olympic squad and fell to 11th for all guards in the 2026 WNBA All-Star player voting.

Despite dealing with a ton of negativity, Dennis believes the WNBA is treating Clark just fine. In fact, he wants people to stop accusing opposing players of petty behavior.

"I don't think you can make a compelling argument that Caitlin Clark is a top four guard in the WNBA. Nobody can at this point. That is why she was 11th. She got the 11th-most votes for being in the top four. So there's really no controversy about that, especially when you add in the fact that she is one of the most popular players in the WNBA; she's going to make the All-Star Game," Dennis Jr. said, via Awful Announcing. "What bothers me is when this is framed as some sort of petty jealousy or insecurity by these women in the WNBA. Because that's not what I'm seeing is happening with Caitlin Clark. Caitlin Clark is experiencing pretty much what happens anytime a young player comes into the league with a lot of hype, especially the hype that she's receiving that says the whole entire league should be thankful that she's there."

Unsurprisingly, fans of Clark's game fired back at Dennis online.

"This framing is so disingenuous. Yes, every young star player faces some extra physicality. CC has drawn BY FAR the most flagrants since she got to the league and NBA players would never have voted Wemby the 11th best center in the NBA," Pete Bukowski from Locked on Packers replied. "The pettiness is obvious."

"This dude is ridiculous. He's been arguing against all things Caitlin Clark since she's been at Iowa," one fan pointed out.

"Maybe you could make this argument in 2024. Not now," a second fan replied. "It's resentment at the very least. Who is this guy anyway?"

"This clown is such a joke," another fan declared.

"Bro- they voted her as the 11th guard," a social media user wrote. "You gotta be dense or a liar to not see it."

WNBA legend disagrees with David Dennis Jr.

Earlier this week, three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker called out players for being insecure of Clark's popularity.

"It's also kind of crazy. Like, I wholeheartedly believe that there needs to be some rules with the WNBA players because this is getting out of hand. Caitlin Clark voted 11th best guard by WNBA players – that's crazy," Parker said. "I think people need to look at themselves in the mirror and realize, like, man, you got you got some insecurities if you sitting down and putting Caitlin Clark as the 11th best guard. Like, y'all, y'all need to go to a therapist and figure out what childhood issues you have, because if you're sitting there and looking at yourself in the mirror and putting her as 11th best guard."

There's no question Dennis' comments on "First Take" were a response to Parker's rant.

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 11:00 PM.