The mainstream sports media has extensively discussed the vitriol that the Indiana Fever’s star rookie, Caitlin Clark has faced after entering the league. WNBA athletes like Chennedy Carter have shown no reluctance in roughing her up on the court. Even WNBA legends like former Houston Comets superstar, Sheryl Swoopes, have been very critical of Clark for no apparent reason.
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Clark has mostly remained silent about such controversies and has shown immense patience and humility while addressing them. In fact, Charles Barkley is in awe of her ability to silently endure the negativity against her.
During a conversation with Bill Simmons, Barkley blasted Clark’s detractors. He called out WNBA athletes for handling the Clark situation in the worst way possible.
The former Phoenix Suns superstar believes that Clark’s WNBA peers are just envious of her success. He just couldn’t fathom why the players are unable to appreciate Clark’s contributions in growing the league. Barkley told Simmons,
“The number of attention, eyeballs that she [Clark] has brought to the college and the pros, and for these women to have this petty jealousness, you say to yourself, ‘Damn, what is going on here?’“
Simmons then highlighted that the apprehension of older generations towards the younger generation is common in sports. Therefore, Clark’s experience also falls in that same vein. However, Barkley disagreed with the comparison.
He pointed out that while it is common for old heads to resent the takeover of the new generation, the WNBA athletes have displayed a unique level of bitterness and ill will towards CC. Barkley lauded Clark for keeping a calm demeanor throughout the ordeal.
“Anytime we say something about the guys, it’s the old ‘get off my lawn’ guy. But the stuff towards her [Clark] is petty and jealous. The thing I love about her, she never says a word,” Barkley added.
The NBA legend has backed CC throughout the season. He wants both current and former WNBA legends to embrace her arrival instead of despising it. While Barkley didn’t specifically name Sheryl Swoopes in his argument, his words were certainly directed at her.
How Swoopes’ antagonistic attitude towards Clark became a huge talking point
It all began in February when Caitlin Clark broke the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record. Back then, Swoopes incorrectly claimed that it took Clark five years to surpass Kelsey Plum’s record(3527 points) and she did it in her mid-20s against teenagers.
Of course, both of these claims were outlandish, since CC had a four-year-college career and entered the WNBA at the age of 22. Swoopes did accept her mistake and apologized to Clark in her DMs.
But then she knowingly started to ignore Clark even while discussing Indiana Fever basketball. During a game between Dallas Wings and the Las Vegas Aces, she refused to acknowledge Clark winning the Player of the Week honors.
As a result, Bally Sports replaced her with Nancy Lieberman as the color commentator for a game between the Dallas Wings and the Fever. Therefore, Swoopes’ inexplicable resentment towards the Fever rookie is having a negative impact on her career as an analyst/broadcaster as well.
Analysts like Stephen A. Smith have even called her out for it. But it will be interesting to see if she changes her stance going forward.
