Monday’s opening segment of ‘First Take’ discussed Chennedy Carter’s foul on Caitlin Clarke. While Monica McNutt contended that Clark doesn’t get to be babied as the NBA media makes it out to be, she reminded ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith what’s what in just under 2 minutes. In the end, all Smith could muster was a defeated “wow.”

“The game is physical. Caitlin is helping to grow the league. These women understand that, but she (Clark) cannot be babied as a rookie. That’s all I am at,” McNutt said while talking about how the foul by Carter and subsequent discussions made it look like the entire WNBA worked that way; Especially for people who just started following the league. She was of the opinion that this conversation had a lot of layers that they weren’t diving into and that’s what put her off. She was absolutely fine with players getting an extra elbow in as long as it was within the league’s parameters.

To this, Smith responded, “Who talks about the WNBA? Who talks about women’s sports more than at First Take?”

But all hell broke loose after this. McNutt hit back and stated, “Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted.”

Well, Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and a good number of NBA players had been attacking Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter for a flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark. But McNutt felt that it would be a different debate if he had given the WNBA due attention before it was trendy. While Shannon Sharpe, who was also a part of the debate, was visibly silent throughout most of the exchange, Smith could only drag out a series of ‘wows.’

This entire exchange seems to have amused Michael Jordan‘s ex-wife. In a post that’s gone viral for sharing the heated exchange, Vanoy is one of the 125,00 likes (and counting). She also commented, “Of course we know,” with a laughing emoji.

Monica McNutt played college basketball at Georgetown and has been with ESPN since 2019. In fact, she was also a part of NBC’s Summer Olympics coverage in 2021.

McNutt’s point was that rough-housing has been the WNBA’s ‘welcome to the league’ tradition for a while. Rookies like Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink will grow out of it and hold their own just fine without others defending them on the sidelines. And McNutt is one of the many voices slamming people for discrediting the entire league for the foul against Clark. While NBA players like Matt Barnes and Draymond Green slam the harsh treatment to Clark, the former partners of NBA pros think otherwise.

Monica McNutt has more on her side!

Marcus Jordan revealed his mother, Juanita Vanoy, joined Instagram sometime in 2023. At that time, Smith was very vocal about Michael Jordan and Marcus Jordan on a variety of matters. This includes the fact that Marcus dated Larsa Pippen- Scottie Pippen’s ex-wife. It doesn’t sound like Vanoy holds any animosity against Smith, though she is enjoying his speechlessness. Another one who enjoyed the First Take argument is Laura Govan.

While Matt Barnes also slammed Clark’s teammates, his sister-in-law commented in the same post, “Finally. Someone said it as clear as day! #respectfully.” Laura was previously married to Gilbert Arenas, who also chimed in on McNutt’s commentary on the matter. According to him, many in the WNBA are mad at Clark for getting the attention.

In fact, Theresa Plaisance, the 2022 WNBA Champion, commented, “Thank you Monica!!!! Respectfully, Stephen A, the fact that you’re trying to argue “how much” WNBA you cover is laughable. Thanks for the 7 minutes of airtime over the past decade.”

Further, former NFL player Terrell Owens agreed with McNutt. He commented, “Needed to be said! And she’s right! Regardless of where the wnba stands TODAY, with his platform, he could have been really highlighting women’s basketball 3+ years ago!!!”

The opinions differ. What fans do agree is that they enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime moment Stephen A. Smith is at a loss for words.