With every game, Caitlin Clark seems to have only added more spectators to the list, turning heads as the league continues to see an upsurge in growth. However, not everyone is pleased. Sheryl Swoopes, in particular, has been attracting criticism for quite a while now, and for the latest instance, the controversy surrounding her has taken an unexpected, ugly turn.
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On September 3rd, Swoopes once again took to X to react to Nancy Liberman’s comments on Stephen A. Smith’s show, who himself doesn’t share a friendly dynamic with the 4x champion. “Now here you go! I get what you’re trying to do with ya boy @stephenasmith, but it ain’t working. You know good and well what happened. And ditto… my life is good without you too (and him). You wanna go there?” she penned.
In the post, Lieberman, who recently replaced her as a broadcaster covering Indiana Fever games, accused Swoopes of using “illegitimate” records and suggested she “get the statistics right.”
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Lieberman even claimed that this conversation took place on a phone call with Swoopes. “Well, she got upset with me on the phone, and I was like, Cheryl, you know, I’m not doing anything to hurt you, I am sharing, we are talking. And so our relationship, it’s pretty much, it’s not happening at this point. My life’s gonna be good or great with or without Sheryl Swoopes. I’d rather have her in it,” she relays.
Now here you go! I get what you trying to do wit ya boy @stephenasmith but it ain’t working. You know good and well what happened. And ditto…my life is good without you too(and him). You wanna go there? https://t.co/puXmIfjy56
— Sheryl Swoopes (@airswoopes22) September 2, 2024
Now, you might be wondering why, if she’s beefing with Nancy Lieberman, she’s calling out Stephen A. Smith. Well, that’s exactly where all this started.
Stephen A Smith fired back at Swoopes’ statement in the beginning.
For Sheryl Swoopes, openly sharing her opinions on WNBA players is nothing new. This was the case again in her August episode of the Queens of the Court podcast. As she shared her thoughts on the Indiana Fever’s growth, she praised standouts, Aliyah Boston, Lexie Hull, and Kelsey Mitchell.
However, she missed out on the team’s leading scorer, the player who has been vital to the Fever’s growth, and someone whose records she has been ignorant of in the past: Caitlin Clark. And Stephen A. Smith took notice. ESPN’s host immediately responded to Swoopes’ statement in one of his episodes, firing back at Swoopes while defending Clark.
“Insane to do that… Do you have any idea how that makes you look?” he added. Since Smith called out Swoopes on national TV, what else would you expect? She clapped back with a statement on X. “You talk about whomever and whatever you want on your podcast. Correct? So why can’t I?” she said, accusing him of not listening to the entire podcast.
As for Lieberman, being a broadcast replacement, she’s a new entry to the beef. While it’s true that Lieberman and Smith would respond, what is anticipated next remains to be seen.
Written by
Edited by
Shivatmika Manvi