Political commentator Megyn Kelly recently raised eyebrows when she called Caitlin Clark a “coward” for refusing to answer questions related to her Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham’s stance against transgender athletes in women’s sports.
On Sunday, Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd shared his own thoughts on Kelly’s comments, defending Clark for choosing to avoid the controversy as much as possible.
Sunday thoughts on Megyn Kelly calling Caitlin Clark a “coward” pic.twitter.com/fS3pd7TNWo
— Colin Cowherd (@colincowherd) August 9, 2026
‘Don’t confuse bravery with getting paid’
Following a game on Aug. 2, a journalist asked Clark how she and her teammates have handled the outside commentary regarding Cunningham’s opinions, which were shared in a recent ESPN profile.
The All-Star guard declined to go into detail, saying “it’s not really a discussion we really have in our locker room” and shutting down a potential follow-up question.
This approach earned the third-year pro criticism from some conservative pundits, most notably Kelly, but Cowherd believes Clark dealt with the situation responsibly.
“I don’t know what courage is,” Cowherd said on The Colin Cowherd Podcast on The Volume. “Probably firefighters, police officers, the Coast Guard in rough seas. Political commentary in today’s landscape is rarely courageous. I do respect people who push back against their own establishment. But in media, rarely are people actually brave. Don’t confuse bravery with getting paid. Cable news isn’t Omaha Beach. Podcasters don’t get purple hearts.
“Megyn Kelly gets paid a lot to talk about big, interesting subjects. Caitlin Clark plays basketball. And Caitlin Clark did not want to feed into Megyn’s audience this week. Which is fine. Fame isn’t a PHD. Athletes are popular. It doesn’t make them profound. From an accountant to a surgeon, most professionals are busy, hyper-focused on their craft. And politics is now a full-time profession, not an extracurricular activity. It’s a minefield of nuance and complexity, and a minefield Megyn Kelly gets very well paid to walk through daily.”
‘Caitlin owes nobody in the media an assist’
Cowherd added that he’s “not asking a guard to be up to date on the Big Beautiful Bill or the latest Supreme Court decision” and questioned why Clark or anyone else would want to get involved in political discourse when “you can’t win.”
“Political parties dispute election results. Scientists argue with scientists,” he continued. “You can be completely right, you think about something, and half the country thinks you’re wrong. So, it doesn’t even matter whether you’re right. Public health officials, election workers, school board members these days get death threats. What basketball player wants any part of that?
“Part of what makes a great politician is knowing what they don’t know. That’s also a pretty good quality for human beings. So, we’ve gone from ‘Shut up and dribble’ to ‘You must speak up and dribble’?”
Both sides of the political spectrum have put pressure on Clark to expound on her views. However, she seems firm in her desire to keep quiet, and Cowherd believes she should be respected for that.
“Politics and sports will always mingle, but they’re different arenas,” Cowherd said. “Quit trying to drag every big-name athlete into your arena. If they want to step into it, fine. And if Caitlin wants to be Bill Bradley someday, great. But she may be more M.J. than LeBron; less interested in leading a movement, and more interested in leading her league. And that’s fine too.
“And let’s be honest. You’re not really mad at the answer. You’re mad she didn’t give you an answer you could use. She did what she does best – pass. Caitlin owes nobody in the media an assist, especially in a game she never asked to play.”
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