Nancy Armour’s disastrous Caitlin Clark article exemplifies why sportswriting and sports media is failing

Caitlin Clark is the most popular player in the WNBA as a result of her talent, ability and flair for making shots few of her peers would think of attempting. She’s also White. And for that reason alone, the vast majority of modern sportswriters or sports media personalities appear to hate her.

The latest example is Nancy Armour, a columnist for USA Today Sports, who put together one of the most bizarre, inexplicable, unacceptable articles you’ll ever see attacking Clark. Some of her complaints about Clark’s penchant for sometimes flopping or going after the officials are legitimate issues that the 24-year-old should address.

But other complaints? Well, let’s just say Armour left the world of rationality far, far behind.

DAVE PORTNOY BLASTS USA TODAY COLUMNIST FOR CLAIMING CAITLIN CLARK’S REFEREE COMPLAINTS FUEL RACISM

She stated that Clark arguing calls puts “Black” and “queer” WNBA players “in danger.” Even though Clark herself has often been aggressively fouled or mistreated, with little protection from the league’s officials. She brought up examples of contact that she claims Clark exaggerated, then blames her for certain fans sending inappropriate and offensive messages to WNBA players. Even though Clark has never, and would never, encourage that behavior. In fact, she did the opposite, saying in 2024 that fans should not use her to push racism or harass opposing players.

But all that pales in comparison to the profoundly absurd comparison to Emmett Till. What does Till, a 14-year-old Black teen who was abducted, tortured and eventually lynched in 1955 Mississippi after an accusation by a White woman, have to do with Caitlin Clark? Well, because Clark’s “actions” are supposedly influencing, uh, lynching? Seriously.

“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,” Armour wrote.

Caitlin Clark telling officials she’s been fouled on a basketball court can lead to “consequences” like Emmett Till, is the implication. This paragraph grabbed so much attention for its idiocy and offensive premise that Armour issued an apology at the ancestral home of sportswriter liberalism, BlueSky, saying it was an “inartful comparison.”

USA TODAY REPORTER APOLOGIZES FOR INVOKING EMMETT TILL IN COLUMN ABOUT CAITLIN CLARK AFTER UPSETTING THE WOKE

No kidding. OutKick reached out to the Emmett Till Foundation to see if they had any comment about Armour trying to tie Caitlin Clark to a lynch mob, but as of time of publishing, had not received a response.

Armour has a long history of ludicrous columns, including one just before the start of the 2026 World Cup claiming that the U.S. had already “lost” because of President Donald Trump, or something. But she’s just a symptom of a larger problem. Sportswriting and sports media is broken. Consumed by politics. Unable to cover things objectively, fairly, or without injecting their own personal beliefs where it doesn’t belong.

There are countless examples, and it’s cost employers ratings, revenue and prestige. Ryan Clark, now formerly of ESPN. Mina Kimes. Jemele Hill. Essentially the entire staff of The Athletic. Los Angeles Times writers who have pushed far-left ideology on Dodgers fans and demanded their local team avoid visiting the White House. The Ringer. Remember the reaction and outrage from many sports media personalities when the US Men’s National Hockey Team won the gold medal and laughed at a joke made by President Trump? They “failed to meet the cultural moment.” Or didn’t “read the room.”

How many media figures asked Steve Kerr about his disregard for the truth with ICE-involved shootings in Minnesota, other than OutKick? Or Doc Rivers? How many in sports media criticized teams visiting the Biden White House to celebrate their titles? What about Sophie Cunningham? After she bravely spoke out to defend women’s sports, she was immediately peppered with questions from a furious WNBA press unable to comprehend someone telling the truth about biology.

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Nancy Armour is just one in a long, long line of sportswriters who are so consumed with progressive politics and injecting it into every story, every situation, every athlete, that they can’t stop even when audiences or readers beg them to. Comparing Caitlin Clark to Emmett Till might sound unreasonable or even insane for most readers. But that’s how Armour thinks. And the worst part is, it’s not just her. It’s all of them.