Caitlin Clark Fans Point Out Perplexing Detail in Basketball Star's 'TIME' Athlete of the Year Cover Photo

Caitlin Clark, a guard for the WNBA Indiana Fever basketball team, just earned a prestigious honor as she was named Athlete of the Year by TIME magazine.

While fans were excited to see the basketball star on the cover of the magazine, they quickly noticed a confusing detail in the photo.

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After TIME shared the cover image, which was published in black and white and shows Clark standing in a sports bra and striped pants while dribbling a basketball, some fans highlighted the strange way her left hand was both posed and shaded, leading a few to think she was holding a weapon.

"Caitlin clark is time's athlete of the year and for a split second I thought she was holding a glock in the photo," wrote a fan on X, and many others seemed to agree, with the post standing at over 1,100 likes, as of writing.

A couple of other fans joked that her arm could be seen as a weapon considering how well she shoots a basketball on the court, with replies like, "It might as well be," and, "She might as well, have you seen her shoot."

In the original post from TIME, fans also showered the record-breaking athlete with love.

"Was there really a choice? Caitlin is fantastic," said one fan, as more wrote, "It's about time she receives valid recognition," and, "Solid choice she’s literally made people start collecting WNBA cards."

Others called the decision to name Clark Athlete of the Year a "no brainer" and "well deserved," while one fan simply said, "Well yeah."

In the accompanying interview, Clark called her year "historic," before saying about her impact, "I've been able to captivate so many people that have never watched women's sports, let alone women's basketball, and turn them into fans."

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