Sheryl Swoopes Under Fire After Defending Sky Star Who Hit Caitlin Clark

WNBA fans are not happy with how Sheryl Swoopes seemingly defended violence against Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.

During the Fever's recent showdown with the Chicago Sky, Clark was flagrantly fouled twice. One of those fouls was from Diamond DeShields, who hit the rookie guard from behind during a transition play and knocked her to the ground.

It was a clear frustration foul from DeShields, earning her a Flagrant 1 call as a result. What followed was a wave of backlash, as fans accused DeShields and the Sky of purposely targeting Clark in the contest.

Interestingly, amid the criticisms of DeShields, Swoopes came in to support the Sky star.

"Diamond DeShields head up kid!" Swoopes wrote. “Hate will not win!! You are covered and ain’t nothing these evil people can do about that. All love for you!"

Sure enough, many interpreted it as Swoopes encouraging cheap shots and violence against Clark. It doesn't help that the WNBA legend has constantly criticized the Fever rookie, fueling the narrative that she dislikes the youngster.

"So you’re good with very blatant cheap shots against players just b[e]c[ause] you don’t like them? Got it," a commenter said.

"Condoning flagrant fouls now?" another one asked.

"Real funny coming from someone who hates a certain player without cause, and it's also funny that you call anyone evil," a critic added.

A social media user noted, "Sheryl, with these statements you are a hateful, has been, and completely irrational person."

"3 unnecessary fouls in less than a minute? Of course Swoopes is first to praise that. Not a big deal but just lol at the things some folks are swift to applaud. Swoopes always gonna make everything about herself and her own personal vendetta," a fifth critic said.

For what it's worth, according to the latest stats, the Sky do have a habit of fouling Caitlin Clark hard.

According to the Clark Report and as backed up by Rebecca Lobo, 17 percent of the flagrant fouls this season were made against the Fever guard. The Sky, for their part, have committed 80 percent of the flagrant fouls on her.

Sheryl Swoopes has yet to address the criticisms she's getting for supporting Diamond DeShields. However, her recent statement should only fuel the talks that she's Clark's No. 1 hater .

Related: LeBron James Made His Opinion of Caitlin Clark Extremely Clear After Angel Reese Rematch