Regarded as Caitlin Clark’s biggest critic, WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes doesn’t mind giving controversial takes. From slamming Clark for breaking her NCAA record of 177 points in 6 games instead of 5 to ignoring Clark’s contribution to the Indiana Fever’s victory, Swoopes has, as most of Clark’s supporters agree, off late built a brand by hating Clark. So, when the internet was divided over Diamond DeShields’ shoulder push to Clark during the Chicago Sky’s game against the Fever on Friday, Swoopes once again jumped on the bandwagon by supporting Clark’s haters. But, this time she wasn’t let go off easily as one Clark fan exposed her hidden agenda.

“Says everything you need to know about Swoopes and her agenda when this is a tweet instead of a phone call,” a Clark admirer tweeted on the social media networking platform X on Saturday. The fan put a screenshot of Swoopes’ message for DeShields along with his tweet to show that Swoopes was biased against Clark.

“@diamonddoesit1 head up kid! Hate will not win!! You are covered and ain’t nothing these evil people can do about that. All love for you!❤️,” Swooped had tweeted on X. As per the fan even if DeShields was going through a tough time because of the trolling, Sheryl Swoopes should have contacted her directly to give her words of encouragement instead of adding fuel to the fire on the internet.

The DeShields’ saga happened in the fourth quarter when Aliyah Boston made a pass to Clark who was on a fast break. While DeShields was chasing the Fever’s favorite rookie, she bumped her shoulder into Clark, and the latter fell onto the hardwood. This attracted a lot of scrutiny, especially after the Chicago Sun-Times printed a picture of DeShields smiling on seeing Clark falling on the hardwood.

It enraged Clark fans who were already on DeShields’ social media accounts condemning her. Thus, when Swoopes tried to cheer up DeShields on the internet it looked as if the Hall of Famer was adding to the negative narrative online but from the other side. And it didn’t sit right with many of Clark’s fans.

Fans slam Sheryl Swoopes for hating on Caitlin Clark

“When Swoopes cheers you on, you know your are on the wrong side,” a fan stated. Notably, Sheryl Swoopes has garnered an image for being a Clark hater. Even when Angel Reese and Clark were embroiled in a controversy in June after the former had hit the Iowa alumni on her head before receiving a Flagrant Foul 1, Swoopes on Gil’s Arena podcast had called Clark a bully. Therefore, the fan feels that Swoopes always supports the wrong player whenever someone is in a feud.

“The woman spews hate with this CC22 thing. Wake up. No one is saying Reese isn’t having a great rookie season. But it’s not close to what CC22 is doing,” a social media user commented while referring to the rivalry between Reese and Clark. Swoopes had applauded Reese for helping Chicago Sky rebuild while completely ignoring Clark’s contribution to the Fever. Hence, the fan felt to clarify that though Reese has done enough for the Sky, she stands nowhere in comparison to Clark.

“Such an odd stance, Cheryl clearly has a personal vendetta. She looks so foolish and is letting it tarnish her own legacy simply because she is so damn stubborn,” another fan commented. Swoopes’ disregard for Clark first came to light when the latter broke the 4x WNBA Champion’s record of most points during the NCAA tournament in the 2022-23 season. Swoopes had then opined that Clark had accomplished the milestone in 6 games whereas she had done it in only 5. Therefore, the fan feels since then there has been a personal vendetta against Clark which could ultimately tarnish the Hall of Famer’s image.

“She’s right about one thing. Hate didn’t win last night!” Another fan played on Swoopes’ words and reminded everyone that the Fever won by a 100-81 margin against the Sky despite DeShields’s pushing Clark.

“Exactly.. not everything needs to be public. Call her and have a conversation,” meanwhile another netizen reflected that it would have been better if Swoopes had called DeShields instead of making the conversation public.

Perhaps, Swoopes will stop criticizing Clark to protect her legacy. And it will be interesting to see if Clark has to say anything about Swoopes and her consistent condemnation of America’s favorite child.