Caitlin Clark supporters are coming after WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes gave what they consider a snide response to her winning TIME “Athlete of the Year.”
Swoopes was making the latest of her frequent visits to former NBA star Gilbert Arenas’ podcast, “Gil’s Arena,” when Swoopes’ was asked what she thought about Clark earning the prestigious honor.
“I don’t think I’m surprised,” Swoopes said, following a pregnant pause. “I’m curious to know who the other candidates were, but the fact that that’s the very first WNBA player to ever win TIME Magazine Athlete of the Year is pretty special.”
“My question is, like the criteria, is it based off of her performance on the court?” Swoopes asked the cohosts. “Which, yeah, she had a great year, or is it more about the impact that she had on the game this season?'”
Arenas felt that other athletes were perhaps just as worthy of the award.
“You could put A’ja Wilson in there,” Swoopes interjected.
Wilson, a superstar with the Las Vegas Aces, did have a superlative year, if not historic. She won the Olympic gold medal for Team USA, earned the Olympic MVP, won the league MVP, broke the single-season scoring record and also set the record for most rebounds and blocked shots in a year.
Arenas considered other candidates who could have won, including Olympic swimming legend Katie Ledecky, gymnast Simone Biles and LeBron James — all who earned gold medals at the Paris Olympics.
Clark becomes the third woman to win the award after soccer eminence Megan Rapinoe in 2019 and Biles in 2021.
Some fans were perturbed at Swoopes, who has been a frequent critic of Clark in 2024.
“CC might just be the most hated WNBA player of all time, mane, and she still fresh in the league, even when she talks on race and speaks up for others they still hate her,” one user said in the comments section of this podcast.
“Caitkin has never said one bad thing about anybody. I love her humility; that’s what attracted me to her in the beginning, and I started watching her,” said a second person. “All the hate she received never shook her, and she pushed on kept playing, and strived to make a mark.”
A third watcher of the podcast assumes that “Sheryl’s fuming, she hates it but she made it too obvious so now she gotta hide it better.”
“Sheryl hates CC so much,” a fourth commenter added. “Bringing up Aja Wilson is hilarious.”
