USA Today columnist who attacked Caitlin Clark has history of injecting far-left views into sports
The columnist for USA Today who sparked outrage over her attacks towards WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark has a lengthy history of injecting her liberal views into sports.
The newspaper's sports writer, Nancy Armour, took aim at the iconic Indiana Fever point guard for repeatedly "flopping" on the court, arguing that it's becoming "dangerous" for others, specifically Black players.
She argued the "racists" and "White nationalist faction to Clark’s fandom" will see her as a "White woman in need of saving and take matters into their own hands," citing harassment Black players have faced following various altercations with the basketball star.
"It shouldn’t need reminding this country has an awful history of Black people being harmed, even killed, in the name of 'defending' [W]hite women," Armour wrote Wednesday. "The WNBA's All-Star Game this weekend is in Chicago, Emmett Till's hometown, and a local art gallery is currently hosting an exhibit imagining his life if he hadn't been lynched. While it’s incumbent on the WNBA to do more to protect its players, there also should be an expectation on Clark to recognize the wider consequences of her actions."
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The writer linking Clark to Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman who falsely accused 14-year-old Till of making unwanted advances that resulted in his brutal murder, sparked outrage among critics.
Armour walked back what she called an "inartful comparision," insisting she neglected to provide enough context in her column — but doubled down on her argument.
"However, this point stands: There is a history in this country of perceived threats to [W]hite women being weaponized against African-Americans, and the danger that poses to Black players in the league," Armour wrote in a statement posted on Instagram. "Players have been abused online and have reported receiving death threats. That has to be taken more seriously."
"I sincerely regret that my lack of appropriate context is overshadowing that important conversation and the action that needs to be taken by the WNBA to address it directly — for the benefit of ALL players," she added.
USA Today added an editor's note to the column saying it was "updated to provide further context and clarity."
Armour, who joined USA Today in 2014, has long fixated on fueling her sports columns with her far-left views.
On Thursday, after her latest attack on Clark, she slammed The Heritage Foundation, who she dubbed the "authors of Project 2025," alleging "they're coming for Title IX" based on a recently-released policy report that concluded the longstanding law that requires schools to provide equal opportunities for men and women has become a "powerful engine of feminist social engineering" that doesn't address the inherent difference between both sexes.
"Our bodies, our self-confidence, our independence — they’re not going to stop until women have the same rights and opportunities they did before the 1970s. Which were almost none," Armour claimed.
"It’s easy to say the Heritage Foundation’s efforts will go nowhere... But Project 2025 has done too much damage already not to take the threat to Title IX seriously," she later wrote. "The Heritage Foundation wants a United States that reflects their White, Judaeo-Christian and heteronormative 'values,' and is steadfastly working to eliminate anything that deviates from them... This country has learned the hard way that women can be stripped of what we'd assumed were fundamental rights. Don't let Title IX be the next to go."
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Last month, as the historic FIFA World Cup was underway, Armour declared the United States "lost" due to its "greed and hostility" on the global stage, declaring "we chose to be ugly Americans" as the host nation.
"The U.S. men’s national team could make a historically deep run and the tournament could be filled with wondrous goals and compelling games. It will not change the fact that we have shown ourselves to be a hateful and greedy nation, one where leaders are only willing to welcome a world as they want to see it rather than as it exists, and the love of the game is exploited for top dollar. That will be the legacy, and the shame, of this World Cup," Armour began her column before listing her grievances like the crackdown on Iranian visas as the U.S. continues its war with the Islamic Republic and the skyrocketing ticket prices.
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In 2025, Armour rallied behind Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles during her spat with former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, who she accused of being a "bully" against the transgender community as Gaines became a prominent advocate for women and girls in sports.
"There is no scientific evidence that transgender women athletes have a physical advantage over cisgender women athletes, but that hasn’t stopped Gaines from claiming they do," Armour wrote. "Gaines has publicly lobbied for Biles and Caitlin Clark to support her in her hate which, again, is a laughable idea to anyone who has followed Biles’ illustrious career."
She continued, "Most of us could never do what Biles does as a gymnast. But we can do what she does as a human: Be kind. Defend the most marginalized. And when you get the opportunity to stick up to a bully, do it at full throat. In a world of Riley Gaineses, be a Simone Biles."
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Armour similarly attacked then-ESPN broadcaster Sam Ponder in 2023 for speaking out in defense of women and girls who object to biological male athletes competing in women's sports, who the USA Today columnist accused of "plain old bigotry."
"Don’t be fooled by the people who screech about ‘fairness’ to cloak their bigotry toward transgender girls and women, the transgender girls and women who have the audacity to want to play sports, in particular. This is, and always was, about hate, fear and ignorance," Armour wrote at the time.
In 2021, Armour fumed over how NFL superstar Tom Brady, who was just days away from playing in his 10th Super Bowl, had gotten an "undeserved pass" over his past support for Donald Trump.
"Brady’s ability to enter and exit the debate at his choosing, to shield himself from accountability, is the height of white [sic] privilege," she wrote. As this country grapples with the far reaches of systemic racism, look no further than Brady, for whom the expectations, and allowances granted, will always be different."
Armour wrote a similar column prior to Super Bowl LI in 2017 that insisted that Brady "has some explaining to do" and "no longer gets a pass on his friendship with Donald Trump."
USA Today's parent company, Gannett, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.