ESPN’s Chris Russo had to say sorry to Caitlin Clark after he doubted her support for the Kansas City Chiefs, admitting that he shouldn’t be “picking on” her.
The WNBA star caused quite a stir last weekend when she was seen with pop icon Taylor Swift as the Chiefs overcame the Houston Texans. The Indiana Fever legend and the ‘Love Story’ hitmaker have struck up a friendship lately, which led to them cheering on Swift’s partner, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, as he steered his team to a win.
Yet, the seemingly harmless occurrence prompted some to challenge Clark about her presence at Arrowhead Stadium. Among the critics was the outspoken broadcaster known as ‘Mad Dog’, who went off on the 22-year-old during his SiriusXM radio show, casting doubt on her loyalty to the three-time Super Bowl champions.
“I saw Caitlin Clark play, what 50 games in college basketball the last two years? I never heard one [Chiefs fandom] reference. I never saw her father with a Chief jersey on,” Russo, who leads ESPN’s First Take, said.
“I never saw [Clark] with a Chiefs hat on. I heard not one reference in 50 games that she was a Chiefs fan, and then all of a sudden now she’s a big Kansas City fan. Come on, stop, please.”

(Image: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
However, Russo was left red-faced on Tuesday when he appeared on sports commentator Dan Patrick’s show. Russo was corrected by the host, who informed him that Clark is actually a Chiefs fan, reports the Mirror US.
“I’m Chief’d out, Dan. I’m Chief’d out. And now all of a sudden Caitlin Clark is a Chiefs fan? ” Russo said. His tone then turned condescending as he questioned Clark’s knowledge of the team.
“I didn’t know [that Clark was a fan]. Did she? She’s a Chiefs fan. She knows about Super Bowl 1… does she know about Miami-Kansas City double overtime 27-24 for one of the most famous games in the history of the National Football League?,” he probed.
However, the 65-year-old was forced to eat his words when a a picture of a young Clark wearing a Chiefs jersey was revealed. Patrick asked Russo if he wanted to apologize to Clark, and Russo reluctantly agreed, saying: “I guess. I guess. I shouldn’t be picking on Caitlin Clark. I’m Chief’d out.”

(Image: YouTube)
It turns out that Clark has been open about her support for the Chiefs on multiple occasions, including during a 2023 Monday Night Football game and the Chiefs-Philadelphia Eagles game.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes star even opened up about the matter earlier in the month on the New Heights podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce. Nonetheless, her presence at the game stirred controversy with ESPN’s Skip Bayless, who even suggested Clark was associating with Swift purely for appearance’s sake.
“Wait, Caitlin Clark is up in the Arrowhead box with Taylor Swift??? Caitlin, you don’t need to be seen with her,” Bayless posted on X. “You’re bigger than she is. Just stay on your own path.”