Dr. Phil Delivers Verdict on Caitlin Clark Being 'Bullied' by WNBA Players

American television personality Dr. Phil is tired of seeing Caitlin Clark getting mistreated by her WNBA peers.

American television personality and author PHIL McGRAW, known professionally as DR. PHIL, testifies on October 20, 2024. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has been subject to a lot of physical treatment throughout her WNBA career. This has caused a lot of discussion among the sports community about whether this is merely the result of teams trying to contain her play-making abilities on the basketball court or whether it's rooted in resentment about Clark's unprecedented superstardom.

American television personality Dr. Phil delivered a strong stance about this during a July 1 segment on his show, which was then posted on YouTube.

"We're talking about targeting a player, time and time again," Dr. Phil said of Clark, after discussing her getting poked in the eye and shoved to the ground during Indiana's June 17 game against the Connecticut Sun.

He later added, "They're going after [Clark]. And this isn't isolated. This has been going on for her whole rookie year, and now it's going on in her second year... These are people going after her... And clearly, these are players jealous of Clark's success and fame. And they have been playing dirty since the minute she joined the league... They're so resentful, so petty, so jealous."

After speaking about some instances where Clark has been subject to flagrant fouls, Dr. Phil then addressed Clark's Fever teammate, Sophie Cunningham, defending her during that June 17 game by retaliating on the Sun player who poked Clark in the eye.

SOPHIE SAID AINT SHIT SWEET pic.twitter.com/vo9Mq2MFN3

— correlation (@nosyone4) June 18, 2025

"Clark doesn't complain about this, she doesn't whine about it, she doesn't go to the ref... she hasn't put on her victim hat. She just keeps showing up, she just keeps playing and going on. And every time she gets bullied or beat up, she says, 'Hey, it's part of the game,'" Dr. Phil then said.

Dr. Phil goes on to talk about bullying, and how you can, "either being a bystander [someone who sees bullying and doesn't act] or an upstander [someone who takes action]." Dr. Phil then deemed Sophie Cunningham an "upstander," which he deemed worthy of praise.

Dr. Phil is clearly on Clark's side with this.