Stephen A. Smith is continuing his crusade against anyone and everyone who has ever shared a morsel of doubt about Caitlin Clark. During the most recent episode of his The Stephen A. Smith Show , Smith said that despite the Indiana Fever leading the WNBA in average game attendance and per-game TV viewership, there seems to be “haterade” regarding the rookie guard out of Iowa. That includes Sheryl Swoopes, who is no stranger to talking about Clark.
The WNBA legend was previously roasted for making an inaccurate accusation about Clark. In turn, Iowa fans defended Clark against Swoopes’ criticism with a controversial t-shirt, “Don’t Be A Sheryl.”
They appeared to have put their differences aside , at least for an in-game interview earlier this WNBA season. However, Swoopes continues to harbor some hard feelings, as according to Smith, she didn’t speak of Clark when talking about Indiana’s recent rise in the standings.
“I think the Olympic break really helped Indiana,” she said, per Smith. “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.”
Not a single mention of Clark.
“So, no Caitlin Clark? Sheryl Swoopes, no Caitlin Clark?” asked Smith. “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.
Smith isn’t the first ESPN personality to take aim at Swoopes over her commentary about the former Iowa star. However, when Elle Duncan called out Swoopes she later had to backtrack after admittedly taking her comments out of context .
“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…You know that; stop it.
“And then y’all wonder what happened. See, remember when I was on the air on ESPN, and I got into it with Monica McNutt?… It’s just a disagreement. See, y’all act like there’s some buzz, and this is a problem. No, this is a debate show. She has an opinion; I have mine. I happen to believe she was wrong. I happen to believe I was right. And I happen to believe that the facts have shown that I was right. How was the attendance for Team USA in the Olympics? What would it have been like if Caitlin Clark was playing on that team?… Go ahead and look, everywhere you turn, Indiana Fever’s breaking records.
“All Sheryl Swoopes did was validate all the speculation that there’s folks hating on Caitlin Clark; that’s all she did. Because to know basketball like Sheryl Swoopes does, to be as accomplished as she is, to be the Hall of Famer that she is — all accolades that are well-deserved. And I’m certainly not attacking Sheryl Swoopes, the person, because I think she’s a wonderful person. She’s certainly been nothing but class and nice to me.
“I’m only addressing a point. How do you talk about the Indiana Fever and mention a multitude of players, and not one of them is Caitlin Clark, who, by the way, as a rookie, is leading the league in assists? How do you do that? How do you do that? I’ve told y’all that. I’ve argued with the great Andraya Carter…I’ve argued with Chiney Ogwumike…Monica McNutt, one of the preeminent voices of the New York Knicks, and what she’s doing with her career. They know that they’ve got my support; it’s all love.
“But I’m waiting for you to say, ‘I was right!'”
Smith might be taking a victory lap, but his crusade against Clark’s critics, like Swoopes, is far from over.
[ Stephen A. Smith ]
The post Stephen A. Smith calls Sheryl Swoopes ‘insane’ for refusing to credit Caitlin Clark appeared first on Awful Announcing .
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