Depending on who you ask, the discourse around Caitlin Clark will be different. An undeniable star of the 2024 WNBA draft class, the Indiana Fever rookie has brought on a new horde of fans to the W. But some worry whether Clark is receiving too much attention while the media ignores those who have been here for years. When Shannon Sharpe tried to defend CC, fellow First Take host Andraya Carter had a sharp response.

“Caitlin Clark is box office. She’s doing this. And instead of giving her credit, y’all trying to make it about, ‘oh y’all poo pooing the old guard…’ Nah, I ain’t gonna let it slide,” the former NFL player said today. Sharpe has been a vocal supporter of the Fever rookie throughout the 2024 season, although he has also openly supported her rival Angel Reese as well.

Nevertheless, fellow ESPN host Andraya Carter was quick to point out another controversy around him. In response to Sharpe’s statement, Carter said, “Another level of noise was coming from people – you were among them – that the league was against her.” And rather than what usually happens, aka fans flocking to the CC supporter, this time it was Carter who received fan applause.

The NFL Hall of Famer believes Caitlin Clark will be the unanimous Rookie of the Year choice this year. While the honor has yet to be announced, and anyone who has seen CC play this season would agree, putting ESPN on blast this time has not been received well.

WNBA community thanks Andraya Carter for bold response amid Caitlin Clark controversy

The Caitlin Clark fanbase has received some criticism from around the league for being too loud, as Andraya Carter put it. But today, W fans in general are supporting the opposite viewpoint! One fan wrote, “Man that woman took @ShannonSharpe to task on @FirstTake . She said their show used its popularity to echo a message that others were also echoing. And she is right. Stephen tried to talk them out of it, but the truth was they said it and mansplained it away for the guest.”

With comparisons to both Larry Bird and LeBron James, Sharpe has made it abundantly clear how highly he thinks of CC. What Andraya Carter pointed out was how there has been a narrative in the media that the players around the league don’t like that the spotlight is being hogged by Clark. And that the former NFL player has taken part in advancing that story.

In August, Sharpe did scream, “Stop this!” on the Night Cap Show, “Y’all mad because that cornfed Iowa girl busting y’all a–!” One fan plainly declared in the comments to Awful Announcing’s post, “@Andraya_Carter You are right @ShannonSharpe and @stephenasmith are wrong.”

While another said, “thank you for existing, @Andraya_Carter ! 🙏 #FirstTake” Sharpe had even suggested that Caitlin Clark was receiving the same treatment as Larry Bird did once upon a time. “Y’all said she’s too weak; she can’t do this. She’s leading the WNBA in assists. She cooking. Let her cook! Let her cook! … Ain’t no hype. Y’all said the same thing about Larry Bird. … She saucy with that thing. Watching her in person twice. I’ve seen her against the Aces and I saw her at the All-Star Game. She is elite.” 

But while Carter was slamming Sharpe for his opinions, she didn’t take away from the achievements of Caitlin Clark.

Given how the narrative has shifted to CC, some have been unhappy about not enough attention being given to the rest of the league. When Carter brought up A’ja Wilson, who just won her third MVP award, one fan said, “So I see @FirstTake didn’t circle back around to A’ja Wilson unanimously winning her 3rd MVP award 🙄. Thanks @Andraya_Carter for recognizing her greatness even if briefly in your segment.”

Wilson is the first W player to win it unanimously since Cynthia Cooper in 1997. On a similar note, many believe Clark will win ROTY unanimously, and the conversation has also been around how she finished 4th place in MVP voting. But another brought A’ja Wilson into the conversation, “@Andraya_Carter thanks so much for shouting out A’ja and saying she’s on her way to becoming one of the greatest women basketball players of ALL TIME! SAS and Shannon didn’t want to entertain that because they feel Caitlin is the only one that should get praise smh #FirstTake”

What Shannon Sharpe has said all season long is that Caitlin Clark is hyped for the right reasons because she has backed up that hype with high-class play. But maybe as Andraya Carter put it, players around the league do recognize it and it does no one any good to continue spreading false stories.