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Shannon Sharpe Goes Off on Caitlin Clark Shover: “Should’ve Said That Last Night”

Utsav Khanna
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Caitlin Clark Support Gets Shannon Sharpe Backlash for “Losing the Argument”

Chennedy Carter, who infamously shoved Caitlin Clark to the ground during their recent matchup, refused to talk to the media about the situation. However, she later put her dislike for the Indiana Fever point guard into words on social media, something Shannon Sharpe strongly disapproved of.

Shannon Sharpe, who has been quite vocal about the Reese-Clark beef, did not appreciate Chennedy Carter’s decision to stay tight-lipped during the post-game pressure. On ‘NightCap,’ he hinted at how today’s generation is more comfortable talking their mind from behind a screen, as they can avoid direct confrontation or scrutiny.

“When she had an opportunity to talk, she had nothing to say. You see, what happened to them Twitter muscles? Thumbs grew muscles,” Sharpe quipped.

Following this, Unc asserted that there are rules to be followed when playing sports. And the illegal shove by Carter does not qualify as that. He also made it very clear that if Carter needed to clarify her position, she should have done so during the post-game presser, which he referred to as the athlete’s ‘media obligation.’

“Well, if that’s how you feel, you should’ve said that last night,” Sharpe asserted. “Why you didn’t say that last night? Why you didn’t step to the podium, when it was your opportunity (you said), ‘I’m not gonna talk about Caitlin Clark.’ If you’re not going to talk about Caitlin Clark when it’s your media obligation to, why you talking about her behind?”

Sharpe’s co-host, on the other hand, provided a separate lens to the situation. Chad Johnson believes that, just like in any other sport, after a game, the athlete must cool off. And Carter was doing the same. She didn’t want to say something she might regret later. Therefore, she chose not to comment during the presser.

Sharpe, however, believes that she was still angry when she made that comment about Clark on social media, and angry people always tell the truth. She, therefore, showed what she truly felt about Caitlin Clark by letting that one comment slip away.

Chad Johnson Believes Caitlin’s Teammates Are More to Blame Than Carter

Like a lot of veteran athletes, even Chad Johnson believes that things like these could happen in a heated basketball contest. But Caitlin Clark’s teammates needed to stand up for her. That’s how a team maintains camaraderie. It also gives each individual more confidence to take on defenders, since they know they have their teammates to back them up.

“I see Miss Chennedy as an enforcer in this sense but what I didn’t like last night is, okay, you did what you did, I need the Fever teammates to come to her rescue — to do something,” Ocho said. “Even if it’s not your mentality to be the enforcing type, you gotta protect your best player. You gotta protect your star… You have to.” 

The shove was seen across social media, but Ocho pointed out that there was a jawing contest happening between Carter and Clark earlier in the game. Although that video did not go as viral as the one with the shove, that also accounted for Carter’s behavior in the game.

Ocho believes that she was playing a part in the game and trying to get under Clark’s skin, which is precisely why teammates should’ve stepped in and stood up for Caitlin Clark.

About the author

Utsav Khanna

Utsav Khanna

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Utsav Khanna, an NFL journalist with a keen eye for the game, has been covering the sport for the past two years, trying to bring the most interesting stories from and around the game. Armed with a degree in English Journalism from the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication, he transitioned from a background in Public Relations to pursue his passion for sports reporting. Having penned over 200 insightful articles, he tries to bring in all the perspectives while writing as the NFL probably as one of the most intricate ecosystems in all of sports. A fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he admires the way Coach Mike Tomlin makes players buy-in into a system and entrusts them in challenging situations.

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