A WNBA legend has thrown some shade at Caitlin Clark – and Stephen A. Smith is not having it.
The Indiana Fever rookie has been red-hot since the WNBA returned from its month-long Olympics break, as she’s scored 23 and 29 points in her team’s two games back.
However, when discussing the Fever’s recent form on the ‘Queens of the Court’ podcast, Sheryl Swoopes somehow didn’t mention Clark at all.
‘I think the Olympic break really helped Indiana,’ she said, referencing the team’s 2-0 start since the W returned. ‘I’m gonna shout out to Lexie Hull. I’m a big Lexie Hull fan. Lexie Hull shot the leather off the ball in their game against Seattle. Kelsey Mitchell is just stroking; she’s just shooting the basketball. Aliyah Boston, almost a triple-double…If Indiana continues to play the way they’re playing, like this, they too are going to move up in the standings.
Smith, who has been a vocal Clark supporter this season, was made aware of those comments and called the former Houston Comets star ‘insane’ for failing to mention the Rookie of the Year frontrunner.
Stephen A. Smith blasted Sheryl Swoopes for her shade of Caitlin Clark on a recent podcast
Sheryl Swoopes recently praised the play of the Fever without mentioning Caitlin Clark
‘So, no Caitlin Clark? Sheryl Swoopes, no Caitlin Clark?’ Smith said on his eponymous show, per Awful Announcing.
‘Respectfully, Sheryl Swoopes, do you have any idea how that makes you look? Do you have any idea how that serves to stain any kind of critique of Caitlin Clark? Because it gives fodder to those who believe she’s being hated and ostracized to some degree. Do you realize, Sheryl Swoopes, you’re insane to do that? Let me tell you why you’re insane to do that. Because, Sheryl Swoopes, you’re one of the greatest players ever in the history of basketball, that’s why.
He continued, ‘See, you won a championship in college at Texas Tech. You won three Olympic gold medals. You won four WNBA championships. You know basketball. You know basketball better than me; you know basketball [better] than any of the pundits. You know basketball better than most of the men that play basketball. There is no way in hell you just accidentally left Caitlin Clark’s name out of that soliloquy that you dropped about the Indiana Fever – stop it.’
Notably, this is not the first time that Swoopes has dissed Clark.
While Clark was still in college at Iowa and closing in on the all-time NCAA D1 scoring record, Swoopes questioned on the Gil’s Arena podcast if Clark’s record would be ‘legitimate.’ Her claim wasn’t even based on correct information, as she believed Clark had played five seasons with Iowa (she in fact played four).
To that point, Smith has previously spoken about how the mostly-black WNBA ‘resents’ the white Clark and her success.
He made the comments after the Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter went out of her way to bodycheck her during a June 1 game.
Clark has been playing brilliantly of late with the Fever in position for a playoff spot
There are girls – young ladies – in the WNBA who are jealous of Caitlin Clark. She is a white girl that has come into the league,’ Smith said on ESPN’s First Take.
‘She has bursted onto the scene. She hasn’t proven herself yet. It’s not even about them thinking they’re better than her because they probably know it at this particular juncture because they’ve been playing on a level she just arrived to.
‘Where the resentment comes in is the hard work, the commitment, the dedication, the pounding of the pavement, the being on the grind all of these years trying to uplift this brand that is the WNBA and is women’s professional basketball and all of their efforts were in vain until this girl comes along and takes the league by storm, takes the sport by form in college and has accomplished in a short period of time what they haven’t been able to.
‘One would think that folks would be smart enough to recognize and appreciate that about Caitlin Clark – piggyback off of that to their benefit and praise her and support her for it while competing on the court against her.’
Regardless of any potential ‘resentment’ from her peers, Clark has has a fantastic rookie season, averaging 17.8 points and 8.3 assists in 28 games so far.
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