A USA Today sports columnist apologized Thursday for invoking the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till in a column arguing that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark’s on-court behavior and the reaction it draws from some fans contribute to unsafe conditions for Black and queer WNBA players, touching off a wave of criticism from media figures across the political spectrum.
Nancy Armour’s column, published Wednesday ahead of the WNBA All-Star Game, argued that Ms. Clark’s reactions to officiating, combined with the way some fans respond to her on-court complaints, contribute to an environment that endangers Black and queer players in the league.
In the original piece, Ms. Armour wrote, “It shouldn’t need reminding this country has an awful history of Black people being harmed, even killed, in the name of ’defending’ white women. The WNBA’s All-Star Game this weekend is in Chicago, Emmett Till’s hometown, and a local art gallery is currently hosting an exhibit imagining his life if he hadn’t been lynched. While it’s incumbent on the WNBA to do more to protect its players, there also should be an expectation on Clark to recognize the wider consequences of her actions.”
The column drew immediate blowback from sports media figures who called the Till reference gratuitous and out of step with the subject at hand — a dispute over officiating. By Thursday, Ms. Armour had posted a statement acknowledging she’d made “an inartful comparison with the murder of Emmett Till,” while maintaining that her broader point about the safety of Black WNBA players stood.
The apology did little to quiet critics. Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina and The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie were among the media figures who mocked the column’s reasoning, with Mr. Vecenie writing it was “among the most insane choices” he’d seen in a sports story from a major outlet.
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