Another day, another petty swipe of Caitlin Clark by WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes. At this point it’s petty, it’s personal, and Swoopes should never be taken seriously as a basketball analyst.
Readers of Bounding Into Sports are well aware of the history. We practically have to cover something said by the four-time WNBA champion on a daily basis.
The latest involved her assessment that Clark has not been dominant in her rookie season and has failed to reach expectations, whereas Angel Reese has actually exceeded expectations.
Now, Swoopes has stooped to a new level. She’s trying to start rumors of animosity in the Indiana Fever locker room. She claims teammates want out of Indiana because of the attention Clark brings with her.
“There’s a lot of other […] going on that players are like, ‘This ain’t where I want to be.’ … It’s a lot,” Swoopes said on Gilbert Arenas’s podcast. “So you have players that are very significant on this Indiana Fever team that are like, this ain’t where I want to be.”
Sheryl Swoopes Starts Childish Rumor About Caitlin Clark
It’s hard to describe just how sad this is. Sheryl Swoopes isn’t landing with her attacks suggesting Caitlin Clark isn’t really that good at basketball. So she had to scrape the bottom of the barrel with some new nonsense.
(By the way, Clark’s rookie numbers are comparable if not more impressive than any MVP season Swoopes had in the WNBA).
She opted to whisper about the supposed discord between Clark and her teammates (you know, the ones who are newly successful thanks to Clark). And the comments were amplified over at The Spun which ran a column with a screaming headline: “There’s Growing Rumor That Caitlin Clark’s Teammates Want Out.”
Last I checked, a “growing rumor” requires more than one source with a proven track record of professional jealousy.
As evidence for her take, Swoopes cites Aliyah Boston, who stepped away from social media due to the team’s slow start and the media attention focused on it.
“So what happens when Aliyah ain’t playing well again?” Swoopes asked. “So, as a player, do you want to continue to stay in a situation where you keep yourself vulnerable to all of the hate that you know is going to come to you if you’re not playing the way everyone thinks you should be playing? And that’s for the people who don’t know basketball.”
Clark’s Teammate Shoots Down The Rumor
Right now, Swoopes falls into that category of ‘people who don’t know basketball.’ Nobody’s game has improved more under Caitlin Clark’s floor leadership than Boston’s.
Last season, with just Boston, Indiana had 13 wins and were well out of the playoffs. This season, under the duo of Boston and Clark, they’re over .500 and the 6th seed heading to post-season play.
Boston’s scoring numbers are very similar but she has improved her stats regarding rebounds and assists. She’s a better all-around player because of Clark.
Which goes to another argument – why would players not want to share the rock with the WNBA’s new all-time single-season assist record holder? Yeah, who wants the most accomplished person to facilitate other people’s scoring on their team?
Meanwhile, one of Caitlin Clark’s teammates dismissed Sheryl Swoopes’ baseless rumor. In fact, Erica Wheeler says, everybody loves playing with Caitlin because she’s fun!
“All we do is have fun with Caitlin Clark, who never takes anything serious,” Wheeler told reporters. “I tell people all the time she’s really a kid at heart. And then also, Christie and the coaching staff, they’re lighthearted so they’ll allow us to have fun.”
Erica Wheeler on the Fever always having fun "All we do is have fun with Caitlin Clark who never takes anything serious. I tell people all the time she's really a kid at heart…the outside world was really trying to get inside this building we just didn't let it." pic.twitter.com/laMbVM6xZ7
— correlation (@nosyone4) September 18, 2024
“But there’s moments when we need to be serious and we are serious. But a majority of the time, we’re having fun because we kind of understand the outside world was really trying to get inside this building – we just didn’t let it,” Wheeler added.
“And having fun is a great way to kinda keep that out.”
Swoopes is one of those people trying to worm their way into that locker room. Indiana would be smart to completely tune her out. The basketball world in general would be better served if they ignored her for that matter.
