Shaquille O’Neal weighed in on the drama revolving around Caitlin Clark and her WNBA peers suggesting other women in the league are suffering from “professional jealousy.”
O’neal made the comments in a recent episode of “The Big Podcast With Shaq”. They’re almost certain to cause controversy with members of the league.
“So I think where people get upset is, as a player you don’t want to be forgotten,” he said. “You know what I call it, I call it stealing props. It’s professional jealousy.”
“I just think people should focus more on not just her, cause she is a great player, but don’t forget about the beautiful Cardoso and my girl Angel.”
RELATED: Shannon Sharpe Goes Ballistic Over Caitlin Clark’s Olympic Snub: ‘Bull Jiving’
Shaq: Jealousy Leading To Issues With Caitlin Clark
Shaq did, however, also point out that the league is taking off because of the contributions of others as well.
“Let’s make something clear, one person may have all the props, but it’s never one person,” he added.
“Don’t say we’re getting new sponsorships because of Caitlin. No… what about Angel, what about [Kamilla] Cardoso? What about my favorite, Kelsey Plum?”
It takes two to tango, as they say. Sure, but a lot of the hype is in seeing Caitlin Clark go up against these players. It’s just the reality. As Pat McAfee said, don’t give me ‘this rookie class.’
The WNBA is quite clearly seeing a surge in television viewers and Caitlin Clark appears to be the primary driver behind those numbers.
Games featuring the Fever guard see 1.099 million television viewers on average. Those without her are averaging 414,000 viewers. In addition to the television ratings, Bounding Into Sports notes that Clark is dominating actual ticket sales for road games.
Would these new sponsorships be there without her? Perhaps. Maybe even probably. Would they be to the level they are, however? No.
RELATED: WNBA Just Released Attendance And TV Rating Numbers, And Wow the Caitlin Clark Effect is Real
Biggest Star In The Game
ESPN’s First Take personality Shannon Sharpe had some thoughts on WNBA players trying to downplay Caitlin Clark, including those who opted to keep her off the Olympic squad.
“Are we really trying to grow the game? Because this is the most popular women’s basketball player in the world and it ain’t close,” he said.
“So are we really trying to grow the game? Is that what we’re really trying to do?” Sharpe continued. “Or are we just talking about ‘we’re trying to grow the game’ and just bull jiving?”
Shannon Sharpe on Caitlin Clark being left off of Team USA: "Are we really trying to grow the game? Because this is the most popular women's basketball player in the world and it ain't close… So are we really trying to grow the game? Is that what we're really trying to do? Or… pic.twitter.com/XwSdruLuG9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 10, 2024
Maybe if players could get over their squabbles and focus on basketball, the WNBA game could actually grow.
Shaq’s comments about “professional jealousy” cropping up with Caitlin Clark aren’t the first time he’s used that phrase.
O’Neal admitted to feeling that way in regards to LeBron James breaking the NBA scoring record last year.
“It was a professional jealousy moment,” he said of watching James eclipse the record.
“I am jealous of having the conversation… It is nice to be ‘Who’s the greatest? Him, or him?’” he added. “Everybody would love to be in that position.”
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