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Sheryl Swoopes Has Turned Caitlin Clark Issues Into Sad Saga

WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes has created a sad situation with her approach to covering Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.

Robin Lundberg

Jul 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., United States; Sheryl Swoopes hosts a WNBA All-Star brunch in honor of her former teammate, Nikki McCray Penson, at Thea in Phoenix on July 19, 2024
Jul 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., United States; Sheryl Swoopes hosts a WNBA All-Star brunch in honor of her former teammate, Nikki McCray Penson, at Thea in Phoenix on July 19, 2024 / Diannie Chavez/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Sheryl Swoopes saga regarding Caitlin Clark has become a soap opera. And that is sad.

I've prefaced any and all coverage of Swoopes by pointing out she is indeed a women's basketball and WNBA legend. Sheryl set records, won multiple championships and MVPs, and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Which is why it is shame those things may no longer be the first thing to come to people's minds when they think of her.

Swoopes has allowed her seeming inability to cover Clark objectively and professionally to tarnish her reputation. She is only adding to that with her combative behavior online.

The latest chapter came when Nancy Lieberman appeared on "The Stephen A. Smith" show. Lieberman had stood out on the broadcast of the Fever and Dallas Wings game given she went out of her way to effusively praise Clark, which came in stark contrast to how Swoopes, who normally occupies the role Lieberman was asked to take instead, recently went completely silent when Caitlin came up.

One bit from that interview has gone viral, as Nancy said that her relationship with Sheryl deteriorated over something Swoopes had to say about Clark. Which brings us back to the beginning.

All the way back in April of 2023, Swoopes appeared visibly upset when discussing Clark breaking her NCAA Tournament scoring record. Sheryl's gripe was that Caitlin played one more game, which was a legitimate point. The problem is Swoopes extended that concept out to records where it didn't apply.

Sheryl notably appeared on the“Gil’s Arena” YouTube show back in January, where she incorrectly stated that Clark was in her fifth season at the University of Iowa in 2023-24, implying that this would have watered down her overall NCAA scoring record. But that was simply incorrect. It was Clark's fourth season. Swoopes also claimed Clark was shooting way more than she was in order to score the points she did.

Sheryl just revealed messages she exchanged with Clark in the aftermath of that incident. It's worth noting that Caitlin was accepting of her apology and was respectful and complimentary in the back and forth. But the issue is that wasn't the last of it.

Swoopes continued her critical approach to discussing Clark. She also recently claimed the Fever could still make the playoffs without CC and neglected to mention Clark at all when giving credit to the team for its recent play, which ignited the feud with Smith in the first place.

All of this would likely have just blown over if Swoopes did not remain so defiant. But she continues to double and triple down on her approach to the issue, something that will almost surely lead to unfortunate results.

Which is a shame, because we should be seeing Caitlin Clark and Sheryl Swoopes embracing one another. Like was the case with Swoopes' former teammate Cynthia Cooper on Sunday. Instead we have this current sad Swoopes saga .

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Robin Lundberg
ROBIN LUNDBERG

Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!

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