Chiefs WR Rashee Rice drops 4-word message to Caitlin Clark on WNBA superstar's 23rd birthday
Caitlin Clark is one of the fastest-rising prospects in basketball, male or female. She is also an ardent supporter of the Kansas City Chiefs, and one player remembered her 23rd birthday on Wednesday.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice took to his Instagram story to post a picture of himself and the Indiana Fever point guard exchanging jerseys at Arrowhead:
"Happy Cake Day CC!"
He is not the first Chief to react to her support for the team. While speaking on Carrington Harrison's "The Drive", star quarterback Patrick Mahomes discussed her appearance at the Divisional Round win against the Houston Texans.
“It’s awesome... Glad she’s a Chiefs fan," Mahomes said.
Chris Russo raises doubts about Caitlin Clark's Chiefs fandom
Caitlin Clark has previously said that she has been supporting the Chiefs ever since her youth. She explained during the ManningCast of the Cheifs' Super Bowl LVII rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 season that such fandom ran in her family:
"My brother was a Chiefs fan. My dad was a Chiefs fan. My cousins in Kansas City, they are Chiefs fans. There was an embarrassing photo of me in all-Chiefs gear that floated around earlier today," Clark said.
However, one person who does not subscribe to its authenticity is veteran sportscaster Chris Russo. Speaking on the "Mad Dog Sports Radio" recently, he said:
“I’ve had enough with Kelce. I’ve had enough with [Taylor Swift]. And now I got Caitlin Clark in the mix... I never heard one reference, I never saw a father with a Chiefs jersey on, I never saw her with a Chiefs hat on, I heard not one reference in 50 games that she was a Chiefs fan, and then all of a sudden now, she's a big Kansas City fan."
He continued about the media coverage that Clark and Swift would get and said:
"I understand you want to be a fan because they win... I am so Chiefed out, it's ridiculous. And you know ESPN, they're going to be as guilty as anybody else, they're going to show you Swift and [Clark] in that freaking press box until the cows come home."
The Chiefs face the Buffalo Bills in Sunday's AFC Championship Game as they look to achieve a historic three-peat. Kickoff at Arrowhead is at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS.