Swoopes' Silence on Clark Sparks Further Controversy
The ongoing saga between WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes and rising star Caitlin Clark continues to generate headlines, with the latest chapter involving an awkward silence during a recent game commentary.
The tension between the two began before Clark even entered the professional league. Swoopes attracted criticism for incorrectly stating that Clark had broken the NCAA scoring record due to playing more years than Kelsey Plum. More recently, Swoopes notably omitted Clark's name when crediting the Indiana Fever's recent success, prompting Stephen A. Smith to label her behaviour "insane."
The latest incident occurred during a Dallas Wings versus Las Vegas Aces game. When the play-by-play commentator mentioned both Napheesa Collier and Clark winning Player of the Week awards, Swoopes remained completely silent. Her co-commentator even attempted to elicit a response from her, but after a lengthy pause, he was forced to continue with the commentary without any input from Swoopes.
Although there's no confirmation of intentional behaviour, Swoopes' silence is unlikely to quell the growing discontent amongst fans who believe she has shown bias towards Clark in her analysis.
Responding to Smith's criticism regarding her previous omission of Clark, Swoopes did not deny deliberately excluding the young star. Instead, she claimed that she had a "personal relationship" with the players and that they deserved recognition.
It's important to note that Swoopes' commentary on the WNBA often takes place in an official capacity. Her podcast, "Queens of the Court," is sponsored by the league, and she was working as a game commentator in the most recent incident.
Despite her initial vocal criticisms of Clark, Swoopes has now gone eerily quiet about the Iowa star. While the reasons behind this sudden shift in behaviour remain unclear, one thing is certain: the controversy surrounding Swoopes' handling of Clark is unlikely to fade away anytime soon.
