​Monica McNutt; Caitlin ClarkCredit: Dana Jacobs/Getty; Colin Hubbard/GettyNEED TO KNOWESPN’s Monica McNutt called for Caitlin Clark to take more “accountability” in the hate sent to WNBA players“There’s room for a little bit more accountability and self awareness in terms of her role in the larger sisterhood, if she sees it that way, in the WNBA,” McNutt saidClark told Malika Andrews in an interview one day prior that the narratives around her are “exhausting” and “frustrating”ESPN reporter Monica McNutt said she wants to see more “accountability” from Caitlin Clark.As the WNBA continues pushing back on targeted online harassment of its’ players, McNutt, 36, said the 24-year-old Indiana Fever star has “room for a little bit more accountability” in her role in the league’s “sisterhood” after Clark said the narratives around her are “emotionally exhausting” in an interview with Malika Andrews one day prior.“When I walk out of the locker room, I shouldn’t be, not fearful, of what the conversation is gonna be,” Clark told Andrews in an exclusive interview.During an ESPN broadcast with Andrews on Sunday, July 26, McNutt said she found it “interesting” that Clark used the word “fearful” in her interview.Caitlin Clark on July 25, 2026Credit: Geoff Stellfox/Getty“We don’t often get to hear Caitlin Clark’s perspective in quite this level of honesty and this is an important conversation to continue have with empathy for everyone involved,” Andrews told McNutt.McNutt replied, “I thought the choice, the word of being ‘fearful’ of the conversation after the game was interesting, because oftentimes it seems, at least in the larger discourse — and not that this isn’t an emotional experience for Caitlin Clark, because I believe that it is — but it’s the folks that are accused of doing something outside of the parameters of competition that are actually the ones that are fearful when you look at their social media.”Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE’s free sports newsletter — sign up now!McNutt continued, “This is what I will say: Caitlin Clark is 24, she is a shining star in the galaxy of the WNBA, but I do think that as she continues to matriculate through this league, there’s room for a little bit more accountability and self awareness in terms of her role in the larger sisterhood, if she sees it that way, in the WNBA.”“But Malika I agree with her 100%, it is certainly exhausting for all of us that want to celebrate where this league is and the beautiful basketball that is being played, this larger discourse that can be very disappointing,” McNutt added.Clark also told Andrews in her interview ahead of the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game that the media’s false narratives “can be confusing” for her. “I think there’s just like a false characterization of who I am,” Clark said. “The fire and the passion, that’s what makes me, me.”Just