Stephen A. Smith Passionately Praises 'White Sister' Caitlin Clark's Time Award Win
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark received one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon an athlete on Tuesday when it was announced that she was named Time Athlete of the Year for 2024.
While the majority of the sports community lauded this decision and many commended Clark's comments about using her privilege to "elevate Black women" in women's basketball in a Time article that was released on December 10, some — such as American commentator and media personality Megyn Kelly — called her out for her words.
However, sports media legend Stephen A. Smith had nothing but praise for the 22-year-old in a recent episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show".
"You know what? SHE'S WHITE!" Smith said after saying Clark deserved winning Time Athlete of the Year. "Clearly, when you consider some of the hard times other people gave her, they were resentful of the fact that this White girl came on the scene where there was a bunch of sisters that preceded her that... were big time and deserved a lot of credit."
He later added, "I respect [these former players], I respect it, it is right, I appreciate it. But whiteness does have its privileges. Especially when you got a game [like Clark]. And what a lot of people weren't willing, or were a bit reluctant to appreciate, is the game of this white sister of ours. She can ball.
"And oh, by the way, she was a great ambassador for the game. And by the way, she came in there and looked out for everybody else... that's who Caitlin Clark is. That's why White, Black, or otherwise, that's why I call her a sister. Because she looked out for the sisters. And everybody else in between," he continued.
Stephen A Smith on Caitlin Clark winning TIME magazine athlete of the year‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️#FeverRising #WNBA pic.twitter.com/FAwXcE6mfj
— Krysta (@Krysta____) December 12, 2024
Clearly Smith is more than content with Clark receiving the Time Athlete of the Year honor.
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.