Sheryl Swoopes Shares Private Texts With Caitlin Clark Amid Criticism
WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes has been catching all kinds of criticism from fans and fellow media personalities for what has appeared like a refusal to acknowledge Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark's rookie season.
The most recent instance of this was when Swoopes (who was working the broadcast booth during a Dallas Wings vs. Las Vegas Aces) went silent when her play-by-play announcer mentioned that Clark had won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award.
Swoopes was not in the booth for Clark's most recent game against the Dallas Wings, instead it was Nancy Lieberman, who went on a passionate rant about Clark's excellence during the broadcast.
This sparked a new wave of criticism toward Swoopes. And as a result, the WNBA icon resorted to posting private text messages from her and Clark that were sent on February 5 on her X account, in an apparent effort to prove that she's not a Clark hater.
Swoopes' text read, "Hey Caitlin! I wanted to personally reach out to you and say I made a mistake on what year this is for you. Covid year has me all confused...Lol! I also have nothing but respect for you and your game and appreciate your skill. Congrats on everything you have accomplished thus far. Be blessed".
Swoopes is alluding to her appearance 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 NCAA scoring record. It was Clark's fourth season.
Clark responded in the text, saying, "no worries at all I appreciate you reaching out and there's no hard feelings. I appreciate all you have done for women's bball and for inspiring girls like me and building the foundation and platform we have today!"
"You're very welcome. I really appreciate you and your game. You are taking it to a whole new level. Keep being great! Have a blessed night," Swoopes responded.
Here you go! This is from February. pic.twitter.com/n7m9v4FPlE
— Sheryl Swoopes (@airswoopes22) September 2, 2024
While this a nice exchange between the two basketball greats, it's strange seeing Swoopes continuously dismissing Clark's achievements since these texts were sent.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.