It is difficult to be in Caitlin Clark’s shoes. The years of criticism and judgment on the reigning WNBA ROTY would have made an impact on her. And she has spoken about how mental health is truly important to keep the noise at bay. Recently, the 22-year-old went through a harrowing few days but the hard part is finally over. Indianapolis police just arrested a 55-year-old Texas man on the charges of felony stalking on Sunday. Twenty-four hours later, Clark’s boyfriend Connor McCaffery is also sending out good wishes, but it is to a family member.

Patrick McCaffery, Connor’s younger brother and a player on the Butler Bulldogs, had taken a leave of absence in 2023, then part of the Iowa Hawkeyes, citing mental health reasons. Now with his brother at Butler, the school’s basketball X account posted a clip of his journey through both basketball and mental health.

Reposting it, Connor wrote, “So proud of Patrick in every way 🙏🏼❤️ This piece is really well done and it does a great job of shining a light on mental health. You’re never alone!” In the clip, the older McCaffery brother also says, “Patrick and I have always been super tight. We’re very close in age. Whenever you talk to Patrick he’s always in that joking, kinda great mood. And I think during that year you kinda saw it go away.”

And his younger brother is forever grateful for his support.

Stating how he was having a hard time eating and sleeping, “just basic human stuff”, in his junior year, Patrick revealed, “I made the decision to step back and take a step and right the ship myself. I eventually told the whole team and everybody was very supportive. And Connor was obviously the spearhead of that.”

In fact, it was Connor who suggested that maybe Patrick should take some time off. Narrating an incident when Patrick told Connor that no he had to play, Connor simply said, “No you don’t.”

Patrick had made it clear that it had nothing to do with his past battle with cancer, which he had gone through as a teenager but fortunately came out of stronger than ever. Nevertheless, the McCaffery clan was there to support him, including his dad and former coach, Fran.

“We’re just trying to help him feel better”: Fran McCaffery on son Patrick

Fran McCaffery was in a unique situation. It’s as Connor put it in the video – no coach ever wants his player to go through something like that. But even harder, no father wants that to happen to his son.

At the time, the Iowa coach had said, “He has struggled with this for a while. I think he said it pretty well, in terms of how he feels and how his body feels at any point in time in terms of his eating and sleeping and so forth.

“His energy level isn’t where it needs to be. He’s pretty transparent about how he feels, and so we’re just trying to help him feel better.” Even Connor had shared, “He throws up. He’ll get really nauseous and throw up all the time and so there’s never anything in his body.”

The family had been concerned, as had the whole Iowa team. But Patrick made a successful comeback in May and later even came to play to Butler, looking for something new. Now, the situation seems to be well handled, both for Connor and Clark.