ESPN's coverage of Caitlin Clark is a racially charged, dishonest, and embarrassing mess | Bobby Burack

For a network that claims to want to grow conversation around the WNBA, no company struggles discussing the league's biggest star more than ESPN.

Over the past week alone, various ESPN commentators have told viewers that Caitlin Clark was not actually punched in the throat (despite clear video evidence), that she has a responsibility to stand up for Black women in the league, that her embellishment is why Alyssa Thomas' fist ended up on her throat, and that she is not even one of the top guards in the WNBA.

David Dennis Jr., whom ESPN recently re-signed and promoted, was responsible for some of those remarks on Thursday.

"I don't think that you can make a compelling argument that Caitlin Clark is a top-four guard in the WNBA," Dennis said, brushing aside the statistical case that proves otherwise.

He also argued that it is unfair to claim opposing players are targeting Clark or committing hard fouls out of "petty jealousy." Instead, he said Clark is simply receiving "superstar treatment."

Dennis has built a reputation for filtering cultural issues through the lens of race. Last year, he wrote that the idea of praising Sydney Sweeney for her appearance "mortified" him. Perhaps he was once rejected by a white woman, and the moment still haunts him to this day.

CHINEY OGWUMIKE CLAIMING THAT A'JA WILSON IS 'GREATER' THAN TOM BRADY EXPOSES ESPN'S WNBA CREDIBILITY PROBLEM

Still, the coverage of Clark is not much better elsewhere on ESPN. The network continues to rely on Chiney Ogwumike and Monica McNutt as two of its leading WNBA analysts, despite their obvious disdain toward Clark.

Last week, Ogwumike argued that Alyssa Thomas punching Clark in the neck was not a significant issue because it required a "freeze frame" to see the contact, whatever that means. McNutt, meanwhile, accused young white girls of favoring Clark on racial grounds.

"Caitlin represented, and again, some of this to me probably is not fair to her, because it was not anything that she said or was truly based on her personality, but she was a white girl from the middle of America. And so she represented a whole lot to a lot of people, whether that is truly what she ascribed to or not," McNutt said.

Former NFL player Harry Douglas has also become part of the conversation. This week, he attempted to praise Paige Bueckers but did so only by trying to diminish Clark.

"Everything we expected Caitlin Clark to be, Paige Bueckers has been in the WNBA," Douglas said.

The numbers tell a different story. Clark just won Player of the Month after averaging 20 points, eight assists, and four rebounds per game. Not bad for a guard whom ESPN insists is nowhere near the top four.

ESPN MUST HOLD STEPHEN A. SMITH ACCOUNTABLE AFTER DOUBLING DOWN ON RACIST REMARKS ABOUT WHITE BASKETBALL PLAYERS

At this point, you have to wonder whether a single ESPN employee is willing to defend Clark or even challenge the factually challenged claims that regularly make it onto the network's airwaves.

Much of the responsibility falls on ESPN management. When executives consistently elevate commentators with one specific ideology, it should not surprise anyone that they arrive at the same illogical, racially-charged conclusions about Clark.

From day one, the narrative around Clark is that she is a superstar only because America has starved for a straight white girl to save them from a league of largely black LGBTQ women. That narrative is not supported by the history of superstardom in American sports. Yet it has shaped ESPN's coverage from the start.

The result is a network that presents a distorted picture of the most influential player in the history of women's basketball. It's bad for the sports. It's bad for ESPN's brand.

The pressure shifts to ESPN executives Jimmy Pitaro, Burke Magnus, and Mike Foss. Those three executives are doing fans a disservice by allowing racial idolaters to turn ESPN's coverage of Clark into a resemblance of how cable news covers the leader of the opposition party.

Imagine if nearly every prominent NFL voice at ESPN approached Patrick Mahomes with the underlying goal of minimizing his accomplishments. That is the culture ESPN has enabled when it comes to discussing Caitlin Clark.

OutKick credited ESPN several months ago for rebuilding its brand by shifting away from identity politics. The ratings suggest viewers have noticed. However, the network's coverage of Clark remains a glaring exception. In the process, ESPN is undermining the growth of one of its most valuable media properties.

ESPN ought to add some diversity to its WNBA commentary -- diversity of opinion, that is.