Caitlin Clark has undeniably received a harsh reception from many WNBA players during her rookie year. 17% of the total flagrant fouls(5 out of 30) this season have been committed against the Fever rookie. While most of these fouls came in live-game situations, on June 1, Chicago Sky veteran Chennedy Carter took things a bit too far when she hit Clark from the back before an inbound pass.
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Back then, on the Run It Back pod, women’s hoops legend Nancy Lieberman had boldly declared that she’d have punched Carter in the face if the latter had tried something like that with her. This prompted a lot of backlash against Lieberman because many thought she was publicly saying that Clark should have punched Carter after the incident.
On The Stephen Smith Show, the 66-year-old explained her position on the matter, which she thinks was widely misconstrued. She said that she was just saying what her personal reaction would be in such a situation. Lieberman never advocated for Clark to take a similar route.
She argued that when Run It Back host Michelle Beadle asked her how she would have responded if she were in Clark’s shoes, the 1984 WNBA Champion merely shared her authentic response to such a situation.
She also underlined her New York roots to explain her mentality of returning the favor when facing violence. Lieberman told Stephen A. Smith,
“I’m doing Michelle Beadle’s podcast… She said what would you do if somebody kind of blindsided you like that. You know me, I’m straight from New York, straight from Rucker Park. I said I would have gotten up. I would have walked up to whoever did it to me, I’d have punched them in the face.”
Lieberman has followed Chennedy Carter’s journey since the Sky Guard was a high schooler. The former NCAA superstar wished that Carter was selected in the 2024 All-Star team as well for holding the Chicago Sky offense together singlehandedly. So she has no personal vendetta against her.
During a phone call with Sky HC Teresa Weatherspoon, Lieberman had explained her perspective as well. It wasn’t about Clark or Carter, but about her personal worldview on the subject.
“I said Spoon I didn’t say she should have punched Chennedy Carter in her face. I said this is what I would do if I would have been blindsided. I’ve known Chennedy since she was in high-school here in Dallas. She is a heck of a player and should have been on the All-Star team, but my comment about hitting her wasn’t about her,” she added.
Lieberman used this example to show that people can at least have a decent conversation even if they disagree. However, Sheryl Swoopes refused to have a chat with her and even broke their friendship when she was confronted about her disrespectful comments regarding Caitlin Clark.
As per Lieberman, Swoopes should also keep her communication channels open if there is a misunderstanding. As the past legends of the game, it is their job to clarify their stance after making controversial comments instead of refusing to engage when asked about the same.
