ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has accused WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes of removing her from a game broadcast because of personal feelings verso Caitlin Clark. Swoopes had previously made incorrect statements about Clark's collegiate career and stats, and Smith believes this may have influenced her decision.
WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes was noticeably absent from the broadcast of the Indiana Fever's victory over the Dallas Wings on Sunday, leading to speculation about the reasons for her absence. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has accused Swoopes of removing her from the broadcast due to personal feelings she holds toward Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
Smith made the allegation during a recent episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show," citing Swoopes' failure to acknowledge Clark's recent performance as a sign of bias.
Stephen A. Smith Accuses Sheryl Swoopes of Bias Against Caitlin Clark
"What incriminates, in my opinion – it’s just my opinion – but what incriminates somebody like Sheryl Swoopes even more who, by the way, was supposed to be calling the game with y’all yesterday, and she did not call the game," Smith said. "And no doubt it had something to do with the fact that, when Caitlin Clark had performed early in the week she didn’t want to talk about it at all."
Smith's comments refer to Clark's impressive performance in the Fever's win over the Chicago Sky last week, in which she scored 31 points with 12 assists. Swoopes, who had previously made incorrect statements about Clark's collegiate career and stats, declined to discuss her performance on the broadcast.
Stephen A. Smith Accuses Sheryl Swoopes of Bias Against Caitlin Clark
"We recognize that, and we know in television the way that I do. I know what producers do, I know bosses do when you see your personal feelings, whatever they may be infiltrating the proceedings and compromising your position as a professional," Smith said.
Bally Sports Southwest did not comment on Swoopes' absence from the broadcast, and the Dallas Wings did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Stephen A. Smith Accuses Sheryl Swoopes of Bias Against Caitlin Clark
In February, Swoopes made incorrect statements about Clark's collegiate career and stats during an appearance on "Gil's Arena," podcast with former NBA star Gilbert Arenas. Swoopes said that Clark stayed in college for five seasons and that she took over 40 shots per game while discussing the topic of how Clark broke the NCAA's all-time basketball points record her senior year in 2023.
While, in fact, Clark played just four seasons while averaging just 22.7 shots per game en route to the record.
Stephen A. Smith Accuses Sheryl Swoopes of Bias Against Caitlin Clark
In August, Swoopes notably omitted Clark as a reason for the recent improvement of the Fever during an episode of her "Queens of the Court" podcast. Swoopes only praised Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, and Lexie Hull.
However, Clark has been the team's leading scorer during its win streak and is already one of the top scorers in the WNBA.
Smith responded to Swoopes' statements in that episode and said the Hall of Famer was "insane to do that."
"Do you have any idea how that makes you look?"
Swoopes took to X to respond, saying, "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."
Smith said that Swoopes' basketball acumen makes her lack of praise of Clark seem personal.
"But I think in the case of Sheryl Swoopes, and I’m not going to belabor this point, but it’s important to be made that Sheryl Swoopes is a winner. She was great, and she’s a phenomenal basketball mind."
"What she’s not realizing is that when she doesn’t state the obvious it’s automatically going to be assumed that it’s something personal, because we know you know the basketball game, the game of basketball too well to ignore the kind of things that she’s ignoring when it comes to Caitlin Clark."
The Fever's next game is away against the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday.
Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
