If there’s one thing The View watchers can count on, it’s the hosts’ capriciousness and hypocrisy. Monday morning’s episode of the ABC News show saw the co-hosts seemingly forget their colleague Sunny Hostin’s racist comments against WNBA star Caitlin Clark, which she spouted less than two weeks prior. Instead, they changed tunes and championed Clark’s cause, praising her sportsmanship and various successes.
The topic in question was a recent incident during a game between WNBA teams Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky. Sky guard Chennedy Carter fouled Clark with a shove, prompting the WNBA to upgrade the technical foul to a Flagrant 1, defined as “unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent.”
Hostin, who sits on the board of advocates for the WNBA’s Players Association, and moderator Whoopi Goldberg first downplayed the foul in a back-and-forth, discussing the intensity of a contact sport and the reality of such incidents occurring. Hostin compared the situation to a similar one experienced by another athlete, Angel Reese, praising her sportsmanship in accepting the sport’s challenge, like Clark, rather than expecting special treatment from the league.
Co-host Ana Navarro followed up by paraphrasing Coach Becky Hammon’s take on the narrative of racism in the league:
What she said was, um, 'It's construed that some of our minority black and brown women are hating on Caitlin Clark because she's white. And that is not the case. Let's take Caitlin out of the picture. What I think is upsetting, it's not about Caitlin. Give her her flowers. She's done stuff that no man or woman, black or white, has ever done in college basketball. Give that woman her flowers.'
For her part, Navarro vigorously agreed, stating “Let's not make it about race, it’s about basketball.” Yet, this was less than two weeks after Hostin’s blatantly racist remarks which were accepted and went completely unquestioned on the show.
The hypocrisy was blatant, but maybe nothing more should be expected from the ever-fickle and shortsighted hosts.
The other co-hosts showered additional praises on the athletes, with Hostin affirming “It's gonna make them better. It's gonna make Caitlin better. It's gonna make Angel better. It's gonna make the league better. They’re getting better, and better, and better.”
At the close of the segment, Hostin cheerfully told viewers, “Let's go watch those games,” a far cry from earlier comments in a complaint about the WNBA’s increased viewership, an unfortunate result of Clark’s “relatability” as a white, pretty, and straight woman.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
6/3/2024
11:18:12 AM EST
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Okay. Let's be realistic, okay? This is basketball, okay? This happens in basketball all the time. Angel Reese got - what uh - clotheslined the other day. I mean, this is…these are not, like, “ha ha ha ha. Here's the ball.”
[ Laughter ]
This is get out the way or Imma move you. That's what the game is. So a lot of people, however, are reading this as confrontation, but this is not–they're not playing on the court. They are there to win. You know, and just ‘cause they're women, get over yourselves. They're athletes.
SUNNY HOSTIN: They're athletes.
[ Applause ]
And I love that you say that, right? What I love is that this is maybe the fifth time on this show or more that we're talking about the WNBA, guys. I mean, this is unbelievable, right?
[ Applause ]
And, you know…
GOLDBERG: It's only been 17 years since I’ve been here.
HOSTIN: Since you’ve been here, and I have been on the board only since 2015, but –'18, but I will say this, it is a contact sport!
GOLDBERG: Yeah. It is.
HOSTIN: And, it's not dainty play, okay? When you're sitting there, and you're–yep. When you’re watching, sometimes when that happens, you think, “Oh, wow. I couldn't take it.” You've got, you know, a guard that's six foot, you've got a big that's 6'7," you’ve got Brittney Griner, seven feet. These are the women that are playing, they’re exceptional athletes.
And I want to talk about that Angel Reese. Because this, what happened with Caitlin Clark, which was clearly a flagrant foul–and it got upgraded to a flagrant, which it should have–the week prior, Angel Reese got hammered, got hammered. I mean, the foul was determined to be a Flagrant 2, and Thomas, her opponent, was automatically ejected. I have tape of what she said after the incident. Check this out.
[Cuts to video]
ANGEL REESE: It's not just ‘cause I'm a rookie. I'm a player. I'm a basketball player. They don't give a damn if I'm a rookie. I mean, I want them to come at me every day. I want them to come at everybody. I mean, they're not supposed to be nice to me. I hope y'all know that. They're not supposed to be nice to me or lay down because I'm Angel Reese or ‘cause I'm a rookie.
[Cuts back to live]
[Hostin gestures ‘need I say more?’]
ANA NAVARRO: You know, what I think is happening, though, is what you guys are talking about. So there's people like me who’ve never watched much basketball. I mean, I go to the Heat games when they're winning.
[Laughter]
And I go to the Heat game because it's, like, a nightclub where there happens to be a basketball game going on. But so people like me who don't watch, see this, and it's, like, at first, it's, like, oh my god. What is that? That's horrible.
GOLDBERG: ¡Ay, Dios Mío! ¿Qué pasa?
NAVARRO: Right. I went and looked at what Becky Hammon, who's a WNBA coach, said…
SARA HAINES: Oh, I used to play with her. At basketball camp, recruiting camps. We played together.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Oh! Elite athlete, Sara Haines.
HAINES: Well, she was much better than I am, but–
[Laughter]
NAVARRO: She said, no. Well, that surprised me. What she said was, um, “It's construed that some of our minority black and brown women are hating on Caitlin Clark because she's white. And that is not the case. Let's take Caitlin out of the picture. What I think is upsetting, it's not about Caitlin. Give her her flowers. She's done stuff that no man or woman, black or white, has ever done in college basketball. Give that woman her flowers.” Let's not make it about race, it’s about basketball.
[Applause]
HAINES: Yeah. And Caitlin, Caitlin handled it above all. She keeps getting asked, ‘cause she goes–you have to go to your media interviews after. She came to that interview, he said, “This is what it is. You’re gonna keep getting hit.” A lot of p–I think there is another storyline going on of jealousy in the league, and a lot of players have come out, LeBron, the most vocal about it, saying, “Give her her flowers, chill the frik out. Like, you guys need to take seats. She's the reason they’re there.”
And, she set another record already. She was the first rookie WNBA player to ever have 150 points, 50 rebounds, 50 assists in her first ten games and everyone's guarding her like she's the only player on the court. She's still–her stats will speak for her. She kept her head above it. She doesn't take to Twitter, X and have fights online. Like she’s doing what she’s doing. This is not expected to be a walk in the park.
FARAH GRIFFIN: And the thing to me is you want–you want strong play. You want it to look as good as you're watching the NBA, which these girls are doing.
GOLDBERG: Yeah.
FARAH GRIFFIN: I care about sportsmanship. I think it's similar to this table. Leave it on the court, and I think that's the best, is if after you could be, like, listen I want them to come after. I liked what Angel Reese said there, where it’s like, “Don't treat me differently or, like, with kid gloves or whatever.” So, be a good sport off the court, but play hard when you're on it.
HOSTIN: It's gonna make them better. It's gonna make Caitlin better. It's gonna make Angel better. It's gonna make the league better. They’re getting better, and better, and better.
GOLDBERG: It is the point of the game.
NAVARRO: Hopefully they're gonna get better money and better endorsements.
HOSTIN: That's right.
NAVARRO: Better numbers, TV viewership, when one–when the water rises, all the boats rise.
GOLDBERG: Yes. One–one would think so. One would think so, but you know what? This is–this is what sports are. They play hard, and they play brilliantly.
HOSTIN: Yep.
HAINES: Yeah.
GOLDBERG: ‘Cause none of us can beat them. None of us–
[Laughter]
NAVARRO: Well, apparently some are gonna try.
GOLDBERG: Well, if we're talking about trying, that's nothing, but none of us can do what they can do. So let's–let’s give them their due. They're doing their thing.
HOSTIN: And let's go watch those games.
GOLDBERG: Yes. And we will be right back.
(...)
