Stephen A. Smith believes the way some WNBA opponents have treated Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark comes from the fact that they’re jealous of her.
During the Fever’s recent game against the Chicago Sky, things got chippy when Sky guard Chennedy Carter shoved Clark to the ground. It was a response to Clark elbowing her moments earlier. The play was ruled a common foul, but later upgraded to a flagrant foul after the game.
The WNBA confirmed that Chennedy Carter’s foul on Caitlin Clark from yesterday’s game has been upgraded to a Flagrant 1, per @alexaphilippou.pic.twitter.com/o7QzaFRkL5
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 2, 2024
Because the foul was committed away from the ball — and Carter is known as a physical player — it was clear the purpose of the play was to send a message. On Monday’s episode of First Take, Smith claimed it was yet another example of players being jealous of Clark because of her popularity.
“There are girls — young ladies — in the WNBA who are jealous of Caitlin Clark,” Smith said. “She is a White girl that has come into the league. She has burst onto the scene. She hasn’t proven herself yet. It’s not even about them thinking they’re better than her because they probably know it at this particular juncture because they’ve been playing on a level she just arrived to.
“Where the resentment comes in is the hard work, the commitment, the dedication, the pounding of the payment, the being on the grind. All of these years trying to uplift this brand that is the WNBA and is women’s professional basketball; and all of their efforts were in vain until this girl comes along and take the league by storm — takes sport by storm — in college and has accomplished in a short period of time what they haven’t been able to. One would think that folks would be smart enough to recognize and appreciate that about Caitlin Clark, piggyback off of that to their benefit, and praise her and support her for it while competing on the court against her and trying to take her out.”
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