Sheryl Swoopes Reacts To Caitlin Clark Winning TIME’s Athlete Of The Year.
2024 marked the first time in history that a WNBA player was named the Athlete of the Year by Time magazine as Caitlin Clark took home the prestigious title. But while many have taken to congratulating Clark on her latest accolade, one WNBA legend had questions instead.
Appearing on the Gil’s Arena podcast, four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes admitted that she wasn’t surprised that Clark won the award. Though she did have some questions. Her first was to wonder who the other candidates might have been, while her second was to ask what the criteria was for winning in the first place. Swoopes questioned if it was based on her performance on the court, or off the court.
“I don’t think I’m surprised,” Swoopes said. “I’m curious to know who the other candidates were, but the fact that that’s the very first WNBA player to ever win TIME Magazine Athlete of the Year is pretty special.”
“My question is, like the criteria, is it based off of her performance on the court?” she asked. “Which, yeah, she had a great year, or is it more about the impact that she had on the game this season?”.
“I’m tired of seeing her everywhere, and the crowds around her”.
Sheryl Swoopes Has Nowhere To Hide for Challenging Caitlin Clark’s TIME Honor in Rachel DeMita’s Scathing Takedown
The fever storm of discussion around Caitlin Clark refuses to die down. TIME magazine execs probably expected some backlash but it’s almost been a week since the Indiana Fever guard was named TIME Athlete of the Year and some still cannot digest it, like Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson. When Sheryl Swoopes was asked about it, her vanilla response didn’t sit well with many. And Rachel DeMita was one of them.
DeMita points to the dramatic turn the conversation around the WNBA has taken because of a single player. Discussing how the discourse around the WNBA has turned to everything else BUT basketball, the analyst also refers to the one former pro seemingly bent on not accepting CC. “It’s like…the Sheryl Swoopes of it all when she was ‘hating’ on Caitlin Clark. Sheryl Swoopes – even when she was asked about the TIME magazine thing, her stance stayed the same.”
On No Chill with Gilbert Arenas, Swoopes was asked about Clark’s achievement, to which she said, “I don’t think I’m surprised. I’m curious to know who the other candidates were, but the fact that that’s the very first WNBA player to ever win TIME Magazine Athlete of the Year is pretty special.”
Apparently not ready to acknowledge the Iowa sensation herself, Swoopes talked about how this would impact the league overall. “My question is, the criteria, is it based off of her performance on the court, which she had a great year or is it more about the impact that she had on the game this season?” Because if that is the criteria, she later suggests on the podcast that A’ja Wilson could have also been there on the list of nominees.
Of course, this was enough to anger some fans. Was there someone more worthy in terms of sports achievements or the singular impact they had on their sport overall? Maybe. But as DeMita points out, “Sheryl Swoopes is more relevant than she has been in 20 years. Unfortunately, her relevancy and her popularity is mostly because of her takes on Caitlin Clark and not because of her play on the court because she was a fantastic basketball player.”
Swoopes’ prowess in the W, mainly with the Houston Comets and then Seattle Storm was not a secret. But a decade after her retirement, many feel that her commentary on Clark is the only thing that keeps her in the headlines. “At what point are us as the media and the podcasters and YouTubers are gonna stop giving these people with terrible takes and honestly hateful takes – when are we gonna stop giving them light?” DeMita asks.
Swoopes is of course known for her less than polite attitude toward Clark at times, even though she claims to have apologized for her comments. The TIME interview seemed like an effort from the Fever player’s side as an attempt to calm things down but it might not work with everyone. Nevertheless, some still take her side over Swoopes, like Stephen A. Smith.
Sheila Johnson probably echoes the same sentiment as some critics when she said everyone deserved recognition and not just Caitlin Clark. Swoopes has reiterated much the same since CC rose to popularity. But Smith had just this to say – look at the impact she has had on the W as she keeps breaking records on the court.
“You see why I have no problem with her being Time’s Athlete of the Year? You see why I said she should’ve been on Team USA? You see why I had to go off on the likes of Sheryl Swoopes — and others — who were clearly distant and dismissive of her, no matter how much they tried to deny it.”
From getting charter flights to increasing attendance not just in Indiana but league-wide, it’s just some of the things Clark has affected. The WNBA is still losing money, as Smith points out, but at least now they’re on an upward trajectory. If anything, Smith says, “Be resentful against the system.” Not the individual.
