“She’s just a passer.” That’s the latest in the long list of jibes towards WNBA rookie sensation Caitlin Clark from the legendary WNBA shooting guard Sheryl Swoopes. And such has been the story in the current times. Seemingly, an alleged beef seems to have developed between two great athletes of the sport which has resulted in circulating quite a buzz.

But this is not the first and certainly for many, not the last. While Clark has publicly refrained from conveying her thoughts in this regard, her fans are certainly not backing down. But why did such a scenario arise between the two?

How did the saga start?

The tipping point of it all seems to be when in April last year, Caitlin Clark surpassed Swoopes’ NCAA single tournament record set in 1993. Seemingly, the scoring of Swoopes comprised 177 points while Clark had 191 points next to her name. Reflecting on it, Swoopes said, ” I set the record in 5 games. I didn’t get that 6th game. To me, yes she broke the record. But she did it in 6 games.” However, she did compliment her soon afterward by adding, “Anybody that can put up back-to-back 40-point games, that’s a baller”. 

Then, in February this year, Caitlin Clark made headlines again when she broke Kelsey Plum’s NCAA Division I career scoring record. The 4× WNBA champion while appearing on the ‘Gil’s Arena’ podcast made a blunder by mistaking Clark as a 5th year while the current Indiana rookie accomplished this feat in her 4th year at Iowa. Swoopes expressed, “If Kelsey Plum set that record in four years, well, Caitlin should’ve broke that record in four years.” As a result, the backlash reached new heights with Clark’s fans showing up for the games in a “Don’t Be A Sheryl” tee.

She had no choice but to publicly accept her mistake soon after. Using Angel Reese as a medium, the 53-year-oil communicated with the 6-foot guard. “A couple of weeks ago, I reached out to (LSU’s Angel Reese) and had a really good conversation with Angel over the phone and sent a message to Caitlin. She responded. She and I went back and forth,” Swoopes revealed during a Baylor-Texas Tech game broadcast.

A segment of her conversation with Gilbert Arenas included the part of Clark’s future transition into the WNBA as well. To which, she opined, “Will Caitlin Clark be a good pro? Absolutely. Will Caitlin Clark come into the WNBA and do what she’s doing right now immediately? Absolutely not. Not going to happen”. 

Simultaneously, the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese hit the professional world with some force. Some fiery and feisty exchanges both on and off the court between the 2 rookies engaged the women’s basketball world to a significant extent. So much so, that Sheryl Swoopes chose to comment on it as well. In yet another visit to “Gil’s Arena”, the 2005 WNBA All-Star Game MVP didn’t hesitate to call Clark a bully.

And now, another such incident has come to the surface. Another such occasion arises where Sheryl Swoopes couldn’t refrain herself from getting into the bad books of Caitlin Clark fans.

The latest episode of the Sheryl Swoopes-Caitlin Clark story

Sheryl Swoopes also went on and drew comparisons of her with teammate Katie Lou Samuelson. Claiming the former UConn forward to be more valuable than the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer, she opines that the Fever would have made it to the playoffs even with Clark’s contributions.

This lay significant grounds for Swoopes to snub Clark out of the Rookie of The Year contention. Speaking about it on the “Queens of the Court,” alongside Jordan Robinson, she said, “I don’t know if Chicago is in the playoffs right now without Angel, right? Is Indiana in the playoffs right now without Caitlin? When you look at the overall team, like the pieces that they have, without question, Indiana has better players than Chicago. From top to bottom”. 

Sheryl Swoopes continues to be in the negative light of Caitlin Clark’s loyalists. Her comments whether positive or negative doesn’t sit right for those who admire Clark. It remains to see if one can prove the other wrong.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And, join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.