Caitlin Clark, an Indiana Fever player, has received a lot of attention during her inaugural season in the WNBA. Of course, not all of that attention has been positive, and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is chastising people who have criticized Clark out of jealously.
Barkley, who has never been one to hold his tongue, appeared to reference and criticize three-time WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes’ remarks regarding Clark.
"These ladies and I'm a WNBA fan. They cannot have f*cked this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried… For these women to have this petty jealousness. You're saying to yourself, 'Damn, what is going on here?'"
– Charles Barkley
(via @ringer)pic.twitter.com/mXRGNO01Mt
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 4, 2024
“These ladies—and I’m a WNBA fan—they cannot have f**ked this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried,” Barkley stated on Bill Simmons’ podcast. “They believe what we say on television. People who dislike you or your personality cannot defame you on television. This is complete nonsense. This chick is amazing. The amount of attention and eyeballs she’s brought to college and the professionals, and for these ladies to be so petty jealous – you’re thinking, ‘Damn, what is going on here?'”
During a basketball game against the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena, Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark (22), who is expected to win the WNBA Rookie of the Year award, was criticized.
Caitlin Clark seems to elicit a polarizing reaction from several current and former players prior to and throughout a potential Rookie of the Year campaign. While some have accepted and praised Clark’s celebrity, which has unquestionably increased WNBA television ratings and attendance, others have downplayed her influence on women’s basketball or chastised her for failing to condemn some of her most poisonous followers.
Despite Clark’s statement in June that “treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it’s just a basic human thing that everybody should do.”
Nonetheless, the conflict between Clark fans and ‘haters’ has escalated, with Clark and Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese emerging as the top two candidates for Rookie of the Year. WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes and former player and coach Nancy Lieberman have began a battle over Clark.
Swoopes, who incorrectly stated earlier this year that Clark broke the NCAA Division I women’s basketball scoring record due to an extra year of eligibility, recently stated that Reese deserved ROTY over Clark, and Swoopes made no mention of Clark while discussing the Indiana Fever’s strong play, which has seen the team rise in the standings and nearly secure a playoff spot.
Lieberman stated that she took issue with some of Swoopes’ comments and referred to the former MVP, which sparked an online feud between the two and may have resulted in Liberman replacing Swoopes on the broadcast of a Fever vs Dallas Wings game.
Regardless, Clark is still the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year. This season, the Fever point guard has averaged 18.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 8.4 assists per game.
