A Texas man is accused of stalking WNBA star Kaitlyn Clark

Authorities in Indianapolis have charged a 55-year-old Texas man with felony stalking of Indiana Fever star and WNBA Rookie of the Year Kaitlin Clark.

Michael Thomas Lewis is accused of repeatedly and continuously molesting 22-year-old Clark beginning Dec. 16, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office wrote in a lawsuit Saturday. Jail records show Lewis is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Lewis posted numerous messages on Clark X’s account, according to an affidavit from a Marion County sheriff’s lieutenant.

In one, he said he drove near Gainbridge Fieldhouse — one of the arenas where the Fever plays its home games — three times a day, and in another he said he had “one foot on a banana peel and the other on a chase charge.” Other letters to Clark were sexually explicit.

Prosecutors wrote in Marion County Superior Court that the posts “actually caused Kaitlyn Clark to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated or threatened” and an implicit or explicit threat was made “with the intent to place Kaitlyn Clark in reasonable fear of sexual assault.” Court filing.

The FBI learned that the X account belonged to Lewis and that the messages were sent from IP addresses associated with the Indianapolis hotel and the downtown public library.

Indianapolis police spoke with Lewis on Jan. 8 in his hotel room. He told officers he was in Indianapolis on vacation. When asked why he posted so many posts about Clark, Lewis responded: “Exactly the same reason everyone posts,” according to court documents.

He told police he meant no harm and that he fantasized about being in a relationship with Clark.

“It’s a fantasy, it’s a joke, and it has nothing to do with the threat,” he told police, according to court documents.

Asking the court for a higher-than-usual bond, the district attorney’s office said Lewis traveled from his home in Texas to Indianapolis “with the intent of being in close proximity to the victim.”

The district attorney’s office also sought a stay-away order as a specific condition if Lewis is released from prison before trial. Prosecutors asked that Lewis be ordered to stay away from the Gainbridge and Hinkle Field buildings where the Fever plays home games.

The Associated Press was unable to determine Monday whether Lewis had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Fever officials did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

The Associated Press has named Clark the Female Athlete of the Year for 2024. After leading Iowa State to the national championship game last year, she was the top pick in the WNBA draft and went on to win the league’s Rookie of the Year award.