Kulturkampf

[HaughtyFrank]

During his opening monologue, Gillis nodded to the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark, who couldn’t make the ceremony owing to her travel schedule with the team. After noting he and Clark had both “nailed a bunch of threes,” he said, “When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she’s going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fistfighting Black women.”

Gillis was presumably attempting to reference Clark’s perceived rivalry with Angel Reese — a dynamic both women have made repeated efforts to shoot down. For her part, Clark has also made a point of crediting Black women in the league as the WNBA faces an uptick in vitriol toward its Black players. At a 2024 press conference, she said, “Nobody in our league should be facing any sort of racism — hurtful, disrespectful, hateful comments and threats.” I guess Gillis feels differently.

Elsewhere, Gillis managed to bungle the pronunciation of Diana Taurasi’s name, calling the six-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time WNBA champion “Deanna.” He also pretended to point out “four-time WNBA All-Star Brittany Hicks” in the audience, before adding, “I’m just joking around. That’s my friend’s wife. I knew none of you knew WNBA players.”

So he made two jokes and mispronounced a name