ESPN's Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo has been forced to offer a humiliating apology to Caitlin Clark after accusing her of faking her Kansas City Chiefs fandom.
WNBA star Clark watched Travis Kelce's team beat the Houston Texans in the divisional round of the playoffs alongside Taylor Swift on Saturday.
Clark joined Swift in the Kelce family suite to witness a master class from the tight end as the The Chiefs took one step closer to a historic third Super Bowl.
The pair sat together for the thrilling finale, in which Kelce scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter. while the game was on a knife edge.
Swift burst into joy in the VIP suite, standing up and hugging Clark. It was the key moment of the game, which gave the Chiefs an eight-point lead. They would go on to record a 23-14 victory.
But Clark's presence in the VIP suite shouldn't come as a surprise. Not only is she a lifelong Chiefs fan, but the Indiana Fever guard was recently a guest on New Heights, the popular podcast hosted by Kelce and his older brother Jason.
Caitlin Clark accused of faking her Kansas City Chiefs fandom by Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo
Russo reluctantly apologized to the WNBA star after being told Clark is a true fan.
Despite clarifying that she is a big Chiefs fan on the podcast, Russo stated that she is not and that she only supports them “because they win.”
A day later, Dan Patrick told Russo that Clark is definitely a Chiefs fan.
In response, he said: 'I'm off the boss, Dan. I'm out of the boss. And now, suddenly, Caitlin Clark is a Chiefs fan?
'Let me guess this straight, we saw Caitlin, a wonderful athlete… I never saw her wear a Chiefs jersey, wear a Chiefs hat, make her dad wear Chiefs… and now, all of a sudden,? Is she a big Chiefs fan? Oh, come on!'
When Patrick told Russo that Clark announced she was a Chiefs fan years ago, Russo responded, “I didn't know.” Did she do it? She is a Chiefs fan. She knows about Super Bowl I…does she know about the 27-24 Miami-Kansas City double overtime for one of the most famous games in National Football League history?
After bringing up a photo of a young Clark in a Chiefs jersey, Patrick asked Russo if he wanted to apologize. To which he said: 'I guess. I guess. I shouldn't bother with Caitlin Clark. I'm out of the boss.
Speaking on his podcast, Mad Dog Unleashed, on Sunday, Russo also bluntly labeled Swift “the girlfriend” while criticizing both women.
He said: 'I've had enough with Kelce. I've had enough with the girlfriend. Now I have Caitlin Clark in the mix.
Russo claimed Clark had shown no signs of supporting the Chiefs in Iowa or the WNBA.
'Who, by the way, did I watch Caitlin Clark play, what, 50 college basketball games in the last two years? Parts of it. I never heard a reference. I never saw his father in a Chief jersey. I never saw her in a boss hat. I didn't hear a single reference in 50 games to her being a Chiefs fan and all of a sudden she's now a huge Kansas City fan.
'Come on, stop, please. I understand that you want to be a fan because they win.
'It's ridiculous. And ESPN, they will be as guilty as everyone else. They'll show you Swift and her and that damn press box until the cows come home.
'When Bob Dylan by Taylor Swift, come back and talk to me. Come back and talk to me when I have that impact. Not for 18-year-old girls like my daughter… When you change music, come back and talk to me.”
Former FS1 and ESPN host Skip Bayless also became enraged upon seeing Clark sitting next to Swift.
He posted during the game: 'WAIT, CAITLIN CLARK IS IN THE ARROWHEAD BOX WITH TAYLOR SWIFT???
'CAITLIN, YOU DON'T NEED TO BE SEEN WITH HER. YOU ARE BIGGER THAN HER. STAY IN YOUR OWN WAY.'
Clark and Swift went crazy after Travis Kelce scored a touchdown for the Chiefs against Houston
Clark and Swift photographed hugging in the VIP suite after Kelce's fourth-quarter touchdown.
Clark, the WNBA's biggest star, is a huge Swiftie and revealed earlier this year that the singer had told her she really wanted to watch the Chiefs with her.
They started the game sitting apart, but in the third quarter they swapped seats and sat together with Clark laughing as Swift spoke to him with her hand over her mouth.
The 22-year-old is a Chiefs fan because she has family that lives in Kansas City and, as a child, she went to a Chiefs game during the holidays.
“I had family in Kansas City and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, which is only three hours from Kansas City,” he said in his recent appearance in New Heights.
“So that's the closest NFL team — my dad was a big Chiefs fan growing up.”
“People think I'm a Chiefs fan, and I'm like, 'No, I was there before Patrick (Mahomes) and Travis.' It was do or die, so we were big fans.
Kelce danced in the end zone after his crucial touchdown eased the pressure on the Chiefs.
Clark also attended two of Swift's Eras Tour shows in Indianapolis earlier this year and saw another Eras show the year before.
Saturday's victory means the Chiefs are now just one win away from next month's Super Bowl.
They will return to Arrowhead next Sunday night, where they will play the Buffalo Bills to punch their ticket to New Orleans in February.
Surely Swift will be back and after a day like this, it would take something to keep Clark away too.