Sue Bird Says It's 'Competitive Talk' Not 'Hate' That Welcomed Caitlin Clark To WNBA, But That's Not Reality

Sue Bird is one of the best WNBA players ever. But she proved earlier this week that her powers of perception leave a lot to be desired.

Bird appeared on Friday’s episode of the "Good Game with Sarah Spain" podcast, in which one of the topics of discussion was the rise of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark. One of the more shocking things about this part of the conversation was the fact that Bird claimed that you and I and everyone else who has followed the WNBA has misinterpreted the hatred that Clark has received in her short time in the league. In fact, Bird thinks that the league as a whole has been very welcoming to her.

Read: Caitlin Clark Is Going To Be Seriously Injured If Racial Hostility Continues | Bobby Burack

"When the reality was, no player felt that way toward Caitlin, everybody was very welcoming and inviting, and they mistook competitive talk for hate, with hating on somebody," Bird said. "I think the majority of WNBA players with their play, with their talk, it was just competition, not hate for a person."

I don’t know what alternate dimension Bird is living in, but it sure isn’t reality.

With popularity comes jealousy, and many WNBA players have proven that to be true this season. Clark came into the league with more attention and fanfare surrounding her than any other star in WNBA history.

Naturally, the players who have been toiling away in a largely unheralded league would find this annoying. After all, if you’ve been largely ignored at something you’ve worked at for several years, and then this hotshot rookie comes in with tons of press after not yet proving anything on the pro level, you’d probably be super motivated to compete your hardest whenever you played her.

That’s all well and good! If