“Quite Disrespectful”: Ex-Collegiate Basketball Player Pushes Back on Angel McCoughtry’s Caitlin Clark “Look”

Angel McCoughtry might have taken the WNBA’s marketability preference into a very uncomfortable domain with her latest comments. But the former WNBA star’s take on beauty discrimination between Caitlin Clark and one of her teammates made a former Old Dominion basketball player even more uncomfortable. 

During her appearance on the Get To The Point podcast recently, the former Atlanta Dream star said that Clark got more promotion and success than Kelsey Mitchell despite the latter being the best player on the team because she was “pretty.” According to Rachel DeMita, who is also a WNBA analyst, McCoughtry’s comments were disrespectful to both ‌Fever stars.

“This one bothered me because what are we doing? We have completely lost the plot,” DeMita said on her Courtside Club podcast. “The fact that there’s a former WNBA player and also WNBA media member chiming in on this conversation and laughing about the way that Caitlin Clark looks in their opinion is quite disrespectful. Actually, just flat-out mean.”

McCoughtry backed her claim by sharing an experience from the past. She said that during a conference, everyone showed love for the Indiana Fever. However, when she asked how many of them knew Mitchell, none of them raised their hands. It was surprising for the five-time All-Star because she believed that Mitchell was the Fever’s best player.

“Having a conversation where you’re kind of essentially saying that Kelsey is not getting marketed enough because she’s not pretty, which is one, mean, two, disrespectful, three, unnecessary and four, just not true. And so I just think it’s messed up,” DeMita added. 

WNBA analyst Robin Lundberg countered the former WNBA player’s claim. He said that while McCoughtry can have an opinion about the best player, people knew Mitchell far less than what they know about her today, and it was largely because of the limelight that Clark brought in Indiana.

The hosts eventually asked McCoughtry if she thought Caitlin Clark was pretty. She laughed off the question. But DeMita said McCoughtry’s claim was also not entirely true because the WNBA gave its best players their due respect and promoted them based on their talent.

“It’s also just not true when it comes to basketball, when it comes to the league itself. When it comes to these big brands who use these faces, like Caitlin in national commercials, Breanna Stewart in national commercials, A’ja Wilson has her signature shoe, and she is in a ton of commercials. These are the players who are being marketed,” DeMita further added.

Stewart has brand deals with Puma and Kalshi. The New York Liberty star also has ownership stakes in Unrivaled. Wilson, on the other hand, has brand deals with Nike, Panini America and Lego. Her other endorsement deals include Ruffles and Mountain Dew. 

McCoughtry eventually brought up Sophie Cunningham to present his case.

“Let’s use Sophie Cunningham for an example. She’s pretty. Now, she averages 7.9 points per game; she has an Adidas shoe deal… It’s the visibility, right? She did some drama on the court; she’s got the visibility. But not the best player you’ve ever seen.

“So in the women’s game, is it really about how good you are, or about the visibility, how pretty you are?” McCoughtry said. “Looks play a part in our sport.”

Cunningham is now the second-most followed WNBA player, with Angel Reese at the top. She has multiple deals with brands like Adidas and Arby’s. Cunningham also has a partnership with coconut water brand Once Upon a Coconut, and she got a chance to feature as the Octagon girl in UFC 329 at the T-Mobile Arena. 

However, according to DeMita, players getting deals outside basketball was not about the WNBA recognizing and promoting them, but more about having better PR.

“If you want to talk about brand deals outside of basketball and what you’re doing in between the lines, that comes down to the players themselves and their preferences…That’s up to the player themselves and also their representation, their agents, their management, their publicists, to get them involved in the kind of things that they want to do outside of basketball,” DeMita said.

It is true that Caitlin Clark is by far the most famous player in the WNBA. Her off-court earnings go beyond $10 million, more than Angel Reese (+2 million) and A’ja Wilson (+3 million). However, it is also true that putting Clark and Mitchell in beauty categories is not just mean, but also disrespectful.

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