Stephen A. Smith lashed out at critics of Caitlin Clark, rightly noting that they are ridiculous. He also said that the current popularity of the WNBA has “everything” to do with the Indiana Fever star.
Smith’s comments come after Clark herself raised some eyebrows by suggesting her success was due in part to “white privilege.” She did this after being named TIME Athlete of the Year for 2024
The ill-advised comments opened the door to critics who have suggested that she is only heralded as a transcendent athlete due to her skin color.
Case in point – Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson. She suggested the TIME Athlete of the Year should have been awarded to the entire league.
Stephen A. Smith Unloads On Caitlin Clark Haters
Smith unloaded on those trying to drag Clark down.
The ESPN star, appearing on a recent episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” took an opportunity to chime in on the controversy. And man, did he ever level the Caitlin Clark haters.
“You see why I have no problem with her being Time’s Athlete of the Year?” Smith said. “You see why I said she should’ve been on Team USA?”
Smith then questioned, “You see why I had to go off on the likes of Sheryl Swoopes and others who were clearly distant and dismissive of her, no matter how much they tried to deny it?”
Swoopes, one of Caitlin Clark’s biggest haters, got big mad when Smith called her out. He ripped her for being willfully ignorant about Clark being the most crucial player in the league.
“There was resentment towards her, and here’s why I said it was stupid: Because when she came into the WNBA for 22-plus years, they had been flying commercial, they were begging for chartered flights,” Smith continued. “She arrives there and two weeks later, they got chartered flights. She automatically and instantaneously improved the conditions.”
Has Everything To Do With The WNBA’s Success
Smith went on to blast Clark haters. He said that they should be resentful of the system rather than the one player who draws attention to their game.
“Things are on an upward trending trajectory, it’s improving, and she has everything to do with it. … she’s directly responsible,” Smith stated.
“And people are resenting her for it like she was the cause of the problems they had for the lack of recognition,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Clark has been responsible for an astonishing 26.5 percent of the WNBA’s activity this season. This includes attendance, merchandise sales, and television viewership, according to a report in the Indianapolis Star.
“Good luck naming another player who altered the trajectory of their entire team sport within five months on the job,” TIME says in their Athlete of the Year article.
There are no other players. And the WNBA didn’t have a great year; Caitlin Clark did. It’s just that her success happened to lift up a league that fans had little to no interest in watching.
More about:WNBA News
Read This Next
