Kelsey Plum has a lot to say about the recent controversey around Caitlin Clark. The players wore black jerseys with the phrase “Pay Us What You Owe Us” printed on the front as a sign of solidarity when they took the court for the All-Star Game.
Following the game, Kelsey Plum of the Los Angeles Sparks made some strange remarks in which she blamed Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark and Team Clark for allegedly failing to attend a meeting where the players were organizing the shirt demonstration. It was interpreted, particularly on social media, as a slight to Clark.
KP: “It was a very powerful moment. As players, we didn’t know that that was going to happen. It was a genuine surprise. The t shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale: 0 members of Team Clark were very present for that” https://t.co/2fXgaAuqMR pic.twitter.com/awIfnqLjxv
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) July 20, 2025
Kelsey Plum talks about controversy around Caitlin Clark
Plum explained that the remarks were a “bad joke” and that she had no malice against Clark during the Bird’s Eye View podcast with Sue Bird. When Bird implied that she was just attempting to make a joke, Plum responded as follows: “And I should have—hindsight is 20/20—Because of the shirts, because of the fans, I should have known it was a way more serious moment than a typical All-Star Game,”
“Because I went into that press conference very, like, happy-go-lucky we won, you know? And had a great weekend. My family was here. It was just a great time. The questions came in, and [it] was like, ‘CBA, this, this, this.’ It was like, ‘Hey, Team Clark, they didn’t make it to the meeting.’ I was making a joke that they were hungover, even though our team nickname was ‘hungover.’ So it was like, ‘At least we made it [to the meeting].”
Although her quip was meant to lighten the atmosphere in the room, Plum believed it backfired and took away from the event. She said:
“Obviously, we’re all on the same page,”. “We all wore the shirts. Like, we’re all unified. And I think, if anything, I was just more discouraged because I felt like it took away from the moment of what we were trying to do.”
