Women’s basketball fans are in awe of Caitlin Clark, the WNBA star who broke the NCAA women’s scoring record during her last semester at the University of Iowa in February. But not everyone is on the young champion’s side.
Sheryl Swoopes—a three-time MVP winner, member of the WNBA Hall of Fame, and broadcaster for the Dallas Wings—has been under fire for months for being an “unfair” critic of Clark, who now plays for the Indiana Fever. The former WNBA star responded to accusations of her bias against the young player by sharing screenshots which are said to be text messages sent by Swoopes to Clark.
On Monday September 2, the retired athlete posted the images on social media, saying that the alleged text messages to Clark were sent on February 5. In the first screenshot, Swoopes apologized for making a false statement on the air regarding how many years Clark had played NCAA college basketball. She expressed that she “made a mistake” and that she has “nothing but respect” for the player, congratulating her on “everything you have accomplished.”
A month earlier, Swoopes had been asked on a show about Clark coming close to breaking the NCAA women’s scoring record. At the time, she pointed out that current WNBA player Kelsey Plum—who previously held the record—had reached such an achievement in four years.
Then Swoopes said that, because COVID allowed college athletes to play a fifth year if they so desired, Clark had only surpassed the record with an extra year. She added that “Caitlin should’ve broke[n]” the record in four instead of five years. However, Swoopes was wrong, and Clark only played for the Iowa Buckeyes for four years.
In her recently shared screenshots, Swoopes showed that Clark responded by thanking her for reaching out and for her own accomplishments in the WNBA. The two reportedly went back and forth for several messages, exchanging respectful and positive words.
But this is not the only instance of apparent bias against Clark that has gotten Swoopes into trouble. In a recent game, the former WNBA star decided to applaud Diamond DeShields, who committed a flagrant one foul against Clark. The public comments seemed odd as flagrant fouls constitute excessive contact in the game, posing higher risks of injury.
DeShields’ team, the Chicago Sky, has made many headlines over the past weekend for its numerous incidents of flagrant fouls called in their game against the Indiana Fever.
Swoopes was also criticized by Stephen Smith, a long-time sports radio host for ESPN, who called the player’s recent lack of acknowledgement of Clark’s achievements as “insane.” In one episode of her podcast that aired last month, Swoopes decided not to list Clark as a driving force in the recent improvement of her team. Instead, she praised Clark’s teammates—Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, and Aliyah Boston—even while Clark remains the top scorer for the team as it continues its winning streak.
Smith reacted to these comments by saying that Swoopes was “insane to do that” and rhetorically asked her on social media if she has “any idea how” her words “make [her] look.”
