WNBA fans call out four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes for Caitlin Clark comments

WNBA fans weren’t happy with Sheryl Swoopes for her comments regarding Caitlin Clark this week. While speaking on an episode of Gil’s Arena, the four-time WNBA champion spoke about the Angel Reese-Caitlin Clark rivalry with NBA veteran Gilbert Arenas following a weekend collision between the two WNBA rookies.

Ahead of the game, photos of Angel Reese’s custom hand-painted Reebok shoes circulated online. The shoes featured a Joker theme, with the villain’s toothy grin on the toe box of one shoe, and the DC character’s iconic laugh on the other.

The artistic decision is one that came on the heels of Reese stating that she doesn’t mind playing the villain role in her rivalry with Caitlin Clark. During the game, Reese was called for a foul, after hitting Clark in the head, with the call then being upgraded to a flagrant after review.

While discussing the pair on Gil’s Arena, Arenas stated that Reese is a rugged player who is built for being a quote, bullier, on the court. Sheryl Swoopes then interjected, stating that Reese isn’t a bully, before then calling out Caitlin Clark for frequently pushing off.

“She’s not a bully (Reese), she’s not a bully. Well I mean if you want to talk about bullies, every time Caitlin has the ball she pushed off. I’m just saying.”

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NBA/WNBA fans were quick to react, with many tired of Sheryl Swoopes criticizing Caitlin Clark.

“God these haters are making me so tired” – One wrote

“Stop giving Sheryl a platform.” – Another added

“Lmao that lady” – Another wrote

Others defended Clark for what they deemed unfair criticism:

“Cc gets hand check every game and refs don’t blow the whistle. If they are going to allow hand checks then as a ref you can not call a foul for a push off. That is none biased balanced officiating.” – One wrote

“Wow you would think about all the lies she told about CC she wouldn’t go there but she can’t help herself.” – Another added

“very time a female talks on the WNBA they never can be honest on this situation all the former or current NBA players be telling them how it actually is and the females can’t wrap their heads around it” – One pointed out

Others called Sheryl Swoopes out for being biased:

“She big mad but she can’t even find a reason to say out loud” – One alleged

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Looking at Sheryl Swoopes’ past comments about Caitlin Clark

While Sheryl Swoopes’ recent comments about Caitlin Clark have rubbed WNBA fans the wrong way, this isn’t the first time the WNBA legend has called out Clark. Back in February, Swoopes made a separate appearance on the Gil’s Arena podcast, where she discussed Clar breaking the NCAA scoring record.

After the Iowa superstar’s 49-point performance in mid-February, Swoopes explained that she didn’t believe Clark deserved the record because it took her an extra year. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Swoopes mistakenly thought that Clark played an extra year of college basketball.

Because of that, she believed that Clark should have had to break Kelsey Plum’s collegiate scoring record in four years. The problem with her statement, of course, was that Caitlin Clark hadn’t played an extra year.

When that was pointed out to Sheryl Swoopes, she then doubled down, saying that Clark takes 40 shots a game. Although she and Clark then cleared the air in a private discussion, she had also previously been dismissive of Clark the year before.

When Caitlin Clark broke Swoopes’ record for the most points scored through the first six games of the March Madness tournament during the 2022-23 season, Swoopes pointed out that she originally set the record in five games, not six. As she explained to Pac-12’s Jordan Robinson

“To me, she broke the record, but she did it in six games, I didn’t get that sixth game, so I set the record in five games. So to me, yes, she broke the record, but she did it in six games. … I don’t care what the record is, who has the record, anybody that can put up back-to-back 40-point games, like that’s a baller.”

While we can see that Swoopes has been complimentary of Clark at times, and the pair have cleared the air, it sounds as though some members of the WNBA community believe she’s still biased against Clark.

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Edited by Evan Bell