Jemele Hill Defends Caitlin Clark Over Morgan Wallen Concert Walkout

Jemele Hill emerged as a voice defending Caitlin Clark amid backlash over the Indiana Fever guard walking out with country singer Morgan Wallen at his concert last Saturday.

Critics including Van Lathan and Jalen Rose's adult daughter condemned Clark's association with Wallen, who used a racial slur in 2021. ESPN guest writer Jayson Buford wrote on Substack, "Caitlin Clark is beloved by most people despite her proximity to the type of whiteness that is inherently scary. So why did she walk out with Morgan Wallen? It's so blatantly corny. Just be cool."

On the latest episode of SPOLITICS Live, Hill questioned why Clark faced criticism when male athletes such as Peyton Manning, Travis Kelce, Myles Garrett, Marshawn Lynch and Patrick Mahomes had walked out with Wallen without controversy. Many black and white athletes have done the same.

Hill framed the difference as a gender issue. For comparison, WNBA player Paige Bueckers and Coach Dawn Staley posed and hugged Chris Brown at his concert last year with no backlash, despite Brown's history as a serial abuser who committed violent crimes. Wallen, by contrast, apologized for his slur, entered rehab and donated half a million dollars to black organizations.

Hill has previously defended WNBA players for hard fouling and targeting Clark, calling it competitiveness. She once claimed Clark did not face the same online harassment as black players, a post she deleted after police arrested a man accused of stalking Clark.

Hill noted some people separate art from the artist, though she cannot with everyone. "[I'm] done with Kanye. Been done with Kanye. Can't do it," she said. "R. Kelly, been done with R. Kelly. Can't do it."