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Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum addressed controversial comments she made about Caitlin Clark’s All-Star team last month, insisting she had been making a “joke.”
After the WNBA All-Star game, where many players wore t-shirts that read, “Pay us what you owe us” in reference to the players’ union’s CBA negotiations with the league, Plum told reporters that players from Clark’s All-Star team had not been at a meeting to discuss the shirts.
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Kelsey Plum, #10 of the Las Vegas Aces, dribbles the ball during the game against the Dallas Wings on September 29, 2023, at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. (Cooper Neill/NBAE via Getty Images)
“But the T-shirt, just, united front, was determined this morning, that we had a meeting for. And, you know, not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that,” Plum said.
The comments ignited harsh backlash against Plum, as many fans pointed out that Clark herself had been wearing the t-shirt during the game.
Now, Plum is insisting that her comment was not serious, and referencing that many players were “hung over,” the morning of the apparent meeting.
“I made a bad joke. I made a really bad joke, tough one,” Plum said during an episode of WNBA legend Sue Bird’s podcast “Bird’s Eye View.”
WNBA STARS’ ALL-STAR GAME MESSAGE ON PAY INCREASE DRAWS SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION
Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Indiana Fever, wears a shirt saying, “Pay us what you owe us” prior to the 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 19, 2025, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Plum also said that she “should have known it was a way-more-serious moment.”
“I should have like hindsight 2020 because of the shirts, because of the fans, like I should have known it was a way-more-serious moment than a typical All-Star game,” Plum said.
“Because I went into that press conference very like, happy-go-lucky, we won. And then had a great weekend, like my family’s here, it was just a great time. And so the questions came in, and it was like CBA this, this, this, this, and I honestly… was like, ‘Hey like team Clark, like they didn’t make it to the meeting either… Trying to make the room lighter.”
The protest was the talk of the weekend as players criticized WNBA officials amid the negotiations.
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WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks during a news conference before the WNBA All-Star basketball game, Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters she believed a deal will get done before the current CBA expires after this season.
“I’m still really optimistic that we’ll get something done that would be transformational,” she said. “And that, next year at All-Star, we’ll be talking about how great everything is. Obviously there’s a lot of hard work to be done on both sides to get there.”
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