Stephen A. Smith is going to continue to get content out of his disagreement(s) with Sheryl Swoopes.
The First Take host took aim at Swoopes, calling her “insane” for refusing to give credit to Caitlin Clark. In turn, the WNBA legend pushed back by calling Smith a “coward” on social media for how he responded to her comments on the Indiana Fever guard. But Swoopes’ public comments on Clark have been few and far between, as she recently went silent on a Dallas Wings broadcast when the former No. 1 overall pick was mentioned.
Swoopes wasn’t included in the broadcast lineup for the Wings-Fever matchup over the weekend, with Nancy Lieberman taking hold of that role instead. In fact, the latter went on the same podcast in which Smith responded to Swoopes, as the two now have their own feud surrounding Clark.
“There’s been some haterade thrown in her direction,” Smith said, with a not-so-subtle jab toward Swoopes. “Because there’s no excuse to have resentment towards her. And see, we don’t want to address the big elephant in the room, but we ain’t gonna run from it today because Sheryl Swoopes made news. Now, she made news last week when she sat up there and was applauding Indiana Fever players but then forgot to mention Caitlin Clark.
“She jumped all in my a** because I sat up there and said, ‘Hey, how you gonna ignore Caitlin Clark? You know what she brings to the table. How you just gonna ignore her?’ That’s not an accident. Sheryl Swoopes is a champion; a champion!…”
Smith pulled up the tweet below:
You talk about whomever and whatever you want to on your podcast. Correct? So why can’t I? Also, did you listen to the ENTIRE episode? NOPE! I have a personal relationship with these players and they deserve recognition as well. https://t.co/bRmORD7JaY
— Sheryl Swoopes (@airswoopes22) August 23, 2024
“That ain’t the point, Sheryl Swoopes,” replied Smith. “Yes, I did listen to your entire podcast; you didn’t mention Caitlin Clark. So, I was right, No. 1. No. 2, your ‘personal relationship,’ what that got to do with your coverage? Ain’t nobody said don’t mention her. Ain’t nobody said don’t applaud them. Nobody told you to ignore them. What we’re saying is if you’re going to give the Indiana Fever all the credit in the world, how you going to mention the Indiana Fever without Caitlin Clark’s name even coming up?
“So, then after that, Sheryl Swoopes engages in levels of immaturity; there’s no way to slice it. I’m not gonna insult this champion, this great basketball mind, this phenomenally accomplished Hall of Famer. I’m not gonna insult her. All I’m gonna say is it was pretty damn immature to come back at me like that. Call me an effing coward because I called you out for not doing your job? So, you on a podcast that means you don’t have to do your job? The bottom line is this: she engages in a level of immaturity. Let’s just call it what it is.
“To just bite at me like that, why? Because what did I say? What did I say? You want to know what I said? Take a look at what I said about Sheryl Swoopes.”
“Respectfully, Sheryl Swoopes, do you have any idea how that makes you look? Do you have any idea how that serves to stain any kind of critique of Caitlin Clark? Because it gives fodder to those who believe she’s being hated and ostracized to some degree. Do you realize, Sheryl Swoopes, you’re insane to do that? Let me tell you why you’re insane to do that. Because, Sheryl Swoopes, you’re one of the greatest players ever in the history of basketball, that’s why.
“See, you won a championship in college at Texas Tech. You won three Olympic gold medals. You won four WNBA championships. You know basketball. You know basketball better than me; you know basketball [better] than any of the pundits. You know basketball better than most of the men that play basketball. There is no way in hell you just accidentally left Caitlin Clark’s name out of that soliloquy that you dropped about the Indiana Fever — stop it…You know that; stop it…”
As both personalities relish the spotlight this feud brings, this war of words shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
