August 23, 2024 • 11 mins
Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I didn't mention it in my Code Open, but I'm
gonna mention it now. And that's Caitlyn Clark herself of
the WNBA. Let's get to the WNBA and this sensational
rookie from the Indiana Fever who continues to be box office.
Clark and the Fever currently lead to WNBA in average
game attendance and per game TV viewership, But despite the
(00:33):
attendance and viewership records, there seems to be some hater
raid in the league in regards to Clark. Starting with
WNBA legend Cheryl Swoops herself. She recently spoke on her
podcast Queens of the Court and didn't mention the rookie
when speaking of Indiana's rise and the standings. Here's what
(00:54):
Cheryl Swoops had to say.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Look at this quote here.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I think the Olympic break really helped the Deanna. I'm
going to shout out to Lexi Hull. I'm a big
Lexi Hull fan. Lexi Hull shot the leather off the
ball in their game against Seattle. Kelsey Mitchell is just stroking.
She's just shooting the basketball. Aliah Boston almost a triple double.
If Indiana continues to play the way they're playing like this,
(01:20):
they too are going to move up in the standings.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
End quote.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So no, no, no, Caitlyn Clark, Cheryl Swoops, No, no, no, no,
no no, caitlynd Clark. Respectfully, Cheryl Swoops, you have any
idea how that makes you look? You have any idea
how that serves to stain any kind of critique of
(01:51):
Caitlyn Clark because it gives father to those who believe
she's being hated on and ostracized to some degree. Do
you realize that, Cheryl Swoops, you're insane to do that.
Let me tell you why you're insane to do that,
Because Cheryl Swoops are one of the greatest players ever
in the history of basketball.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
That's why. See, you won a championship in College of
Texas Tech. You won.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Three Olympic gold medals, You won four WNBA championships.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
You know basketball.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
You know basketball better than me, You know basketball than
any of the pundits. You know basketball better than most
of the men that play basketball. There is no way
in hell you just accidentally left Caitlyn Clark's name out
of that's the liloquy that you dropped about.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
The Indiana fever. Stop it, you know that, stop it?
And then y'all wonder what happened. See, remember.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
When I was on the air on ESPN and I
got into it with Monica McNutt.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
See if you I'm talking to.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
You, Steven, you if you had promoted the WNBA more,
if you had talked about it more, they would have
played more games. Like I had the power to go
up to ESPN to say, you know, directors and producers
and Carara Menzen and everybody else flocked to the WNBA
(03:22):
at the time when it wasn't nearly as popular as
it was today. That's what Monica mcnuh accused me of.
But it's okay, it's just a disagreement. See y'all act
like there's some buzz and it's a problem. No, it's
a debate show. She has an opinion, I have mine.
I happen to believe she was wrong. I happen to
believe I was right, and I happen to believe the
facts have shown that I was right. How was the
(03:43):
attendance for Team USA in the Olympics. What would it
have been like if Caitlin Clark was playing on that team?
Remember the first game? Look at this right here, national
broadcast viewership. What are we talking about here?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
One thousand? What is that? One point two one nine
Is that the number?
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Because and the game afterwards about four hundred and eighty
five thousand views. So the fever and that game against
the Minnesota Lynx was one point two one nine million.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
On ion on ion. The follow game didn't even get
half the ratings.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Go ahead and look everywhere you turn Indiana Fever's breaking records.
All Cheryl Swoops did was validate all the speculation that
there's folks hating on Caitlin Clark. That's all she did
because to no basketball like Cheryl Swoops does, to be
(04:54):
as accomplished as she is, to be the Hall of
Famer that she is, all alcohol that are well deserved.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
And I'm certainly not.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Attacking shows the person, because I think she's a wonderful person.
She's certainly always been nothing but class and nice to me.
I'm only addressing up point, how do you talk about
the Indiana Fever and mentioned a multitude of players, and
now one of them is Kaitlyn Clark, who.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
By the way, as a rookies leading the league insists,
how do you do that? How do you do that.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I told you all that I've argued with the great
Andrea Carter, outstanding analysts for ESPN, right here on this podcast.
I've argued with Janey Ogooma Kay, who's an outstanding basketball analyst.
The two of them together, Oh my god, that's an
a team, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Nothing but love for both of them.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
And Monica McNutt that one of the voice of preeminent
voices of the New York Knicks and what she's.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Doing with her career. They know they got my support.
All love, but I wait for you to say I
was right. Caitlyn Clark can Ball.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Should have been on Team USA because you needed the
marketing buzz. I didn't say she was better than all
twelve players that were on the team instead of her.
Even though when they almost lost to France, I was
getting nervous Dana Tarossi wasn't on the court.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
I said, you need somebody that could shoot.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
And then Copper showed up and was doing her thing,
and Asiah Wilson did her thing, and I was good.
For what I'm saying is, if you remember their first game,
they had about thirteen thousand fans. Somebody else had fifteen,
everybody else had over twenty thousand plus.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
You think that would happen if.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Kaitlyn Clark was on the team. You think that would
have happened if Adril Reis was on that team, but
especially Kaitlyn Clark.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Caitlyn Clark is coming. Some people think she's already arrived.
I don't.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
I think she's gonna be even better, and I think
that what she has done for women's basketball, especially in
this country, has been for nomenal. There is no woman,
no matter how great you were as a player, Sheryl Swoops,
there is no woman who shouldn't the gate mentioning Kitlyn
(07:10):
Clark and what Caitlyn Clark is.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Doing for the game.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
I know that Monica McNutt and others were getting very,
very frustrated at all of the buzz that was going
in her direction. Not to hate on Kitlyn Clark in
any way, because I'm sure Monica McNutt does not feel
that way.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
She just knows that there were people.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
On the ground pounding the pavement that were doing so
much for women's basketball everywhere that deserved their praise. She
was absolutely right in saying that we don't disagree, but
that's utopia. Reality is, it didn't happen to this level
until Caitlan Clark showed up. Call it the great White hope,
(07:52):
call it white being right, call it whatever you want.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
See.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I'm a person that doesn't. I recognize that reality, but
I don't resent it. I figure out ways to do
it to my bench. I apologize for that West, I
apologize for that grip. I apologize for that game. I
ain't apologize for nothing. There are people in our industry
who happened to be white that got paid.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I ain't mad at them. I'm grateful to them. Thank
you for setting the stage.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Hell yeah, ain't hey Rise and Todd lifts all boats.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Whatever it takes for everybody to get fed, I'm all
for it.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
You a WNBA player, Caitlyn Clark, gonna get you paid.
I figured out a way to be her friend or
her friend of me. That's what Angel Reese has done.
Angel Reese could play. She was doing good things at LSU.
(09:01):
Do y'all notice when she became relevant when she was
waving her hands over her face, mimicking what Eitlyn Clark
was doing to the competition before she ran in the
LSU and got bug rushed in the final four.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
That's what made angrelw Rees popular.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
It route to LSU winning the national championship a couple
of years ago in women's college basketball.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
And then we.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Watched Angel Reese and her popularity elevate along with her
nil money and beyond, and we paid attention to her.
And then Kaitlyn Clark took her out, but we still remembered.
And then Dawn Stalely in South Carolina came along and said,
Kaitlyn Clark, we love you, we appreciate you. We're gonna
(09:50):
send you home with the ZL and then the postgame
celebration on the podium except in the National Championship Trophy.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
What to Dawn Stealey do bring to Kaitlyn Clark because
she's smart?
Speaker 1 (10:05):
What did Angel Reese do this year with all the
talk about Kaitlyn Clark, what does she do? She goes
out on the court, she competes against her, and then
suddenly that teammates and they all star game and they
get long and slapping high fives when Kaitlyn Clark delivers
in the Sister or something along that line, and everything's
cold because Kaitlyn, because Angel Reese figured it out. She said,
(10:28):
there's a way for me to be the meal ticket too,
if I have to use her to help me do it. Okay,
because Angel Reice's game clearly is good enough, her personality
clearly is sensational enough.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
The issue is she wasn't running from me. She embraced it.
Cheryl Swoops, take notes, you ain't playing no more.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
It's you. A Hall of Famer and a champion and
a basketball savant. You know good and damn well. You
had no business talking about the Indiana Feet without mentioning
Caitlin Clark. Come on, Sheryl Swoops, come on, you are
so much better than that.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Come on,
I didn't mention it in my Code Open, but I'm
gonna mention it now. And that's Caitlyn Clark herself of
the WNBA. Let's get to the WNBA and this sensational
rookie from the Indiana Fever who continues to be box office.
Clark and the Fever currently lead to WNBA in average
game attendance and per game TV viewership, But despite the
(00:33):
attendance and viewership records, there seems to be some hater
raid in the league in regards to Clark. Starting with
WNBA legend Cheryl Swoops herself. She recently spoke on her
podcast Queens of the Court and didn't mention the rookie
when speaking of Indiana's rise and the standings. Here's what
(00:54):
Cheryl Swoops had to say.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Look at this quote here.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I think the Olympic break really helped the Deanna. I'm
going to shout out to Lexi Hull. I'm a big
Lexi Hull fan. Lexi Hull shot the leather off the
ball in their game against Seattle. Kelsey Mitchell is just stroking.
She's just shooting the basketball. Aliah Boston almost a triple double.
If Indiana continues to play the way they're playing like this,
(01:20):
they too are going to move up in the standings.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
End quote.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So no, no, no, Caitlyn Clark, Cheryl Swoops, No, no, no, no,
no no, caitlynd Clark. Respectfully, Cheryl Swoops, you have any
idea how that makes you look? You have any idea
how that serves to stain any kind of critique of
(01:51):
Caitlyn Clark because it gives father to those who believe
she's being hated on and ostracized to some degree. Do
you realize that, Cheryl Swoops, you're insane to do that.
Let me tell you why you're insane to do that,
Because Cheryl Swoops are one of the greatest players ever
in the history of basketball.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
That's why. See, you won a championship in College of
Texas Tech. You won.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Three Olympic gold medals, You won four WNBA championships.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
You know basketball.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
You know basketball better than me, You know basketball than
any of the pundits. You know basketball better than most
of the men that play basketball. There is no way
in hell you just accidentally left Caitlyn Clark's name out
of that's the liloquy that you dropped about.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
The Indiana fever. Stop it, you know that, stop it?
And then y'all wonder what happened. See, remember.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
When I was on the air on ESPN and I
got into it with Monica McNutt.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
See if you I'm talking to.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
You, Steven, you if you had promoted the WNBA more,
if you had talked about it more, they would have
played more games. Like I had the power to go
up to ESPN to say, you know, directors and producers
and Carara Menzen and everybody else flocked to the WNBA
(03:22):
at the time when it wasn't nearly as popular as
it was today. That's what Monica mcnuh accused me of.
But it's okay, it's just a disagreement. See y'all act
like there's some buzz and it's a problem. No, it's
a debate show. She has an opinion, I have mine.
I happen to believe she was wrong. I happen to
believe I was right, and I happen to believe the
facts have shown that I was right. How was the
(03:43):
attendance for Team USA in the Olympics. What would it
have been like if Caitlin Clark was playing on that team?
Remember the first game? Look at this right here, national
broadcast viewership. What are we talking about here?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
One thousand? What is that? One point two one nine
Is that the number?
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Because and the game afterwards about four hundred and eighty
five thousand views. So the fever and that game against
the Minnesota Lynx was one point two one nine million.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
On ion on ion. The follow game didn't even get
half the ratings.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Go ahead and look everywhere you turn Indiana Fever's breaking records.
All Cheryl Swoops did was validate all the speculation that
there's folks hating on Caitlin Clark. That's all she did
because to no basketball like Cheryl Swoops does, to be
(04:54):
as accomplished as she is, to be the Hall of
Famer that she is, all alcohol that are well deserved.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
And I'm certainly not.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Attacking shows the person, because I think she's a wonderful person.
She's certainly always been nothing but class and nice to me.
I'm only addressing up point, how do you talk about
the Indiana Fever and mentioned a multitude of players, and
now one of them is Kaitlyn Clark, who.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
By the way, as a rookies leading the league insists,
how do you do that? How do you do that.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I told you all that I've argued with the great
Andrea Carter, outstanding analysts for ESPN, right here on this podcast.
I've argued with Janey Ogooma Kay, who's an outstanding basketball analyst.
The two of them together, Oh my god, that's an
a team, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Nothing but love for both of them.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
And Monica McNutt that one of the voice of preeminent
voices of the New York Knicks and what she's.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Doing with her career. They know they got my support.
All love, but I wait for you to say I
was right. Caitlyn Clark can Ball.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Should have been on Team USA because you needed the
marketing buzz. I didn't say she was better than all
twelve players that were on the team instead of her.
Even though when they almost lost to France, I was
getting nervous Dana Tarossi wasn't on the court.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
I said, you need somebody that could shoot.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
And then Copper showed up and was doing her thing,
and Asiah Wilson did her thing, and I was good.
For what I'm saying is, if you remember their first game,
they had about thirteen thousand fans. Somebody else had fifteen,
everybody else had over twenty thousand plus.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
You think that would happen if.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Kaitlyn Clark was on the team. You think that would
have happened if Adril Reis was on that team, but
especially Kaitlyn Clark.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Caitlyn Clark is coming. Some people think she's already arrived.
I don't.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
I think she's gonna be even better, and I think
that what she has done for women's basketball, especially in
this country, has been for nomenal. There is no woman,
no matter how great you were as a player, Sheryl Swoops,
there is no woman who shouldn't the gate mentioning Kitlyn
(07:10):
Clark and what Caitlyn Clark is.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Doing for the game.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
I know that Monica McNutt and others were getting very,
very frustrated at all of the buzz that was going
in her direction. Not to hate on Kitlyn Clark in
any way, because I'm sure Monica McNutt does not feel
that way.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
She just knows that there were people.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
On the ground pounding the pavement that were doing so
much for women's basketball everywhere that deserved their praise. She
was absolutely right in saying that we don't disagree, but
that's utopia. Reality is, it didn't happen to this level
until Caitlan Clark showed up. Call it the great White hope,
(07:52):
call it white being right, call it whatever you want.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
See.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I'm a person that doesn't. I recognize that reality, but
I don't resent it. I figure out ways to do
it to my bench. I apologize for that West, I
apologize for that grip. I apologize for that game. I
ain't apologize for nothing. There are people in our industry
who happened to be white that got paid.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I ain't mad at them. I'm grateful to them. Thank
you for setting the stage.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Hell yeah, ain't hey Rise and Todd lifts all boats.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Whatever it takes for everybody to get fed, I'm all
for it.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
You a WNBA player, Caitlyn Clark, gonna get you paid.
I figured out a way to be her friend or
her friend of me. That's what Angel Reese has done.
Angel Reese could play. She was doing good things at LSU.
(09:01):
Do y'all notice when she became relevant when she was
waving her hands over her face, mimicking what Eitlyn Clark
was doing to the competition before she ran in the
LSU and got bug rushed in the final four.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
That's what made angrelw Rees popular.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
It route to LSU winning the national championship a couple
of years ago in women's college basketball.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
And then we.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Watched Angel Reese and her popularity elevate along with her
nil money and beyond, and we paid attention to her.
And then Kaitlyn Clark took her out, but we still remembered.
And then Dawn Stalely in South Carolina came along and said,
Kaitlyn Clark, we love you, we appreciate you. We're gonna
(09:50):
send you home with the ZL and then the postgame
celebration on the podium except in the National Championship Trophy.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
What to Dawn Stealey do bring to Kaitlyn Clark because
she's smart?
Speaker 1 (10:05):
What did Angel Reese do this year with all the
talk about Kaitlyn Clark, what does she do? She goes
out on the court, she competes against her, and then
suddenly that teammates and they all star game and they
get long and slapping high fives when Kaitlyn Clark delivers
in the Sister or something along that line, and everything's
cold because Kaitlyn, because Angel Reese figured it out. She said,
(10:28):
there's a way for me to be the meal ticket too,
if I have to use her to help me do it. Okay,
because Angel Reice's game clearly is good enough, her personality
clearly is sensational enough.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
The issue is she wasn't running from me. She embraced it.
Cheryl Swoops, take notes, you ain't playing no more.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
It's you. A Hall of Famer and a champion and
a basketball savant. You know good and damn well. You
had no business talking about the Indiana Feet without mentioning
Caitlin Clark. Come on, Sheryl Swoops, come on, you are
so much better than that.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Come on,
Host
Stephen A. Smith
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