Shannon Sharpe is a big fan of Caitlin Clark.
He has supported her since her Iowa days and recently spoke out on ESPN’s “First Take” and his “Nightcap” podcast. Sharpe believes some WNBA players are jealous of Clark and target her unfairly during games.
Last weekend, there was an incident where Skylar Diggins-Smith bumped into Clark during a timeout. Sharpe thinks this was intentional because the Storm were upset about losing to the Fever 92-75 .
> “If I’m Caitlin Clark, I would’ve told Skylar Diggins, ‘Get your coat, your brim, and get on out of our gym. Y’all stop this foolishness,” Sharpe said. “Y’all see the woman speed up [toward Clark]. Y’all see her โ Caitlin Clark is getting the crowd going [during a timeout]. Y’all see Skylar Diggins speed up to make contact with her. Stop this.”
> “Y’all mad because that cornfed Iowa girl busting yโall aโ. Yโall said, ‘She too weak. She can’t do this.’ She leads the WNBA in assists. She’s cooking โ let her cook.”
Sharpe’s Thoughts on Bias:
Sharpe also mentioned that people have questioned Clarkโs toughness due to her skin color, similar to what Larry Bird, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic faced.
> “They said the same thing about Larry Bird โ ain’t nothing hype,” Sharpe recalled. “Ain’t nothing hype about Luka. Ain’t nothing hype about Jokic. I get it โ we’re not used to seeing [this], but she’s saucy with that thing [basketball]. Watching her twice in person, I can say she is elite. She is the pinnacle at passing the basketball.”
Fans might think it’s unfair how some players treat Clark just because she’s good at what she does.
Sharpe had previously criticized USAB for not including Clark in their roster for the Paris Olympics, saying her skills would have been great for FIBA basketball. Afterward, he pointed out low attendance at women’s basketball games in Paris and suggested that having Clark could have drawn more fans.
Clark averages 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and leads with 8.3 assists per game! She’s already broken rookie records for assists and might be the first rookie ever to lead in assists by seasonโs end.
What do you think? Is Shannon right?
