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Caitlin Clark’s rookie season has involved a booklet of broken records, a dramatic franchise turnaround for the Indiana Fever and hordes of new fans to the WNBA.
However, it has also been shrouded in controversial fouls, feuds with rival players and widespread criticism from former and current players of unwarranted favoritism toward Clark.
Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley spoke out against the players who have undermined the positive attention Clark’s rookie season has brought to the WNBA this year during an appearance on the “Bill Simmons Podcast” on Wednesday.
“These ladies, and I’m a WNBA fan, they could not have f—ed this Caitlin Clark thing up even worse if they tried,” Barkley said on the show.
Clark led the Fever to its first playoff berth in eight seasons on Tuesday, breaking the WNBA’s longest postseason drought. She is averaging 18.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and a league-leading 8.4 assists, breaking multiple league records in each of her last three games.
“This girl is incredible,” Barkley said of Clark. “The number of attention, eyeballs, she’s brought to college and the pros, and for these women to have this petty jealousness. You’re saying to yourself, ‘Damn, what is going on here?'”
Clark has been on the receiving end of several questionable fouls this year, and the most notable came against the Chicago Sky.
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Diamond DeShields, #0 of the Chicago Sky, runs into and is charged with a flagrant foul against Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Indiana Fever, at Wintrust Arena on Aug. 30, 2024 in Chicago. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
On Friday, Chicago Sky player Diamond DeShields sent Clark flying across the floor for a foul that was later upgraded to flagrant-1. After the game, DeShields posted a screenshot of her notifications list on Instagram, which included a string of hate comments from a user.
Clark took an infamous illegal hip check from Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter on June 1. Carter then refused to answer questions about the incident at the postgame press conference but used her social media to repeatedly criticize Clark.
Clark took another questionable hit to the head from Sky rookie and longtime college rival Angel Reese on June 16.
Sky coach Theresa Witherspoon even called out Clark publicly to the media, saying “nobody talks more crap than Caitlin” to reporters on June 27.
ESPN women’s basketball broadcaster Holly Rowe told Fox News Digital last month that the harsh physical reception by Clark is good for the WNBA, because “it’s supposed to be salty.”
Barkley also called out WNBA personalities on television who have “slandered” Clark this year.
“People believe what we say on television. Just because people don’t like you or your personality, they can’t get on TV and slander you,” Barkley said.
College basketball analyst Charles Barkley on air before the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four championship game. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Barkley did not cite anyone by name. However, his comments come amid a whirlwind of controversy currently surrounding WNBA Hall of Famer and current Dallas Wings broadcaster Sheryl Swoopes.
Swoopes infamously made questionable statements about the length and statistics of Clark’s college career, during an appearance on “Gil’s Arena” podcast in February.
While discussing the topic of how Clark broke the NCAA’s all-time basketball points record in her senior year in 2023, Swoopes suggested Clark played five college seasons and took over 40 shots per game. Swoopes was also criticized for a comment that included the phrase “25-year-old playing against 20-year-olds,” during a discussion about Clark’s college success, but Swoopes did not directly implicate Clark being older than her listed age.
Swoopes posted screenshots on X of alleged messages with Clark apologizing to the rookie for the false statements, and held an X spaces on Tuesday to say that the statements were a result of confusion over the COVID-19 pandemic lengthening the college careers of other athletes.
Swoopes was recently absent from her broadcasting duties for Clark’s game against the Wings on Sunday.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said that Swoopes was removed from the broadcast due to her personal feelings toward Clark, during a recent episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”
On Wednesday, the Fever will look to move up the playoff standings as they start a six-game homestand with a game against the Los Angeles Sparks. Their season ends with the Washington Mystics on Sept. 19.
During Swoopes’ absence from the broadcast booth on Sunday, Clark put up 28 points and 12 assists to lead Indiana to its fourth straight win and six in its last seven games. Clark scored the 595th point of her career, surpassing WNBA legend Tamika Catchings for the most in a single season by a rookie in Fever history. She finished with 617 points as Sunday’s game ended.
Clark has seemed to break a landmark record in every game she has played in recently.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, #22, shoots as Dallas Wings’ Jacy Sheldon, #4, and Natasha Howard, right, defend in the first half of a WNBA basketball game on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
In Friday’s game against the Sky, Clark had the first 30-point, 12-assist game in WNBA history while becoming just the fifth player, and first rookie, to record at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game. On top of that, Clark now has 12 double-doubles, which breaks the WNBA record for most double-doubles by a guard in a single season.
Just three days before that, Clark set the record for most made 3-pointers by a rookie, surpassing the mark initially set by the Atlanta Dream’s Rhyne Howard. She was 3-of-12 from downtown and finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists as Indiana picked up its 15th win.
That same night, she also became the first WNBA player to have at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in six consecutive WNBA games. It was her 10th straight game with at least 15 points and five rebounds, which put her in the elite club with Diana Taurasi as the players who have hit the mark.
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