Caitlin Clark’s rookie season has included a booklet of broken sign ups, a emotional franchise turnaround for the Indiana Fever and hordes of new fans to the WNBA.
However, it has also been shrouded in disputed fouls, feuds with rival carry outers and widespread criticism from createer and current carry outers of unauthorizationed likeitism toward Clark.
Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley spoke out agetst the carry outers who have undermined the likeable attention Clark’s rookie season has bcdisadmirefult to the WNBA this year during an ecombineance on the “Bill Simmons Podcast” on Wednesday.
“These ladies, and I’m a WNBA fan, they could not have f—ed this Caitlin Clark leang up even worse if they tried,” Barkley shelp on the show.
Clark led the Fever to its first carry outoff berth in eight seasons on Tuesday, shattering the WNBA’s extfinishedest postseason dcdisadmirefult. She is averaging 18.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and a league-directing 8.4 aids, shattering multiple league sign ups in each of her last three games.
“This girl is incredible,” Barkley shelp of Clark. “The number of attention, eyeballs, she’s bcdisadmirefult 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 finish of cut offal askable fouls this year, and the most notable came agetst the Chicago Sky.
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Diamond DeShields, #0 of the Chicago Sky, runs into and is accused with a flagrant foul agetst Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Indiana Fever, at Windepend Arena on Aug. 30, 2024 in Chicago. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
On Friday, Chicago Sky carry outer Diamond DeShields sent Clark flying atraverse the floor for a foul that was tardyr fortifyd to flagrant-1. After the game, DeShields posted a screenstoasty of her notifications enumerate on Instagram, which integrated a string of antipathy comments from a includer.
Clark took an inwell-comprehendn illhorrible hip verify from Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter on June 1. Carter then refused to answer asks about the incident at the postgame press conference but included her social media to repeatedly condemn Clark.
Clark took another askable hit to the head from Sky rookie and extfinishedtime college rival Angel Reese on June 16.
Sky coach Theresa Witherspoon even called out Clark accessiblely to the media, saying “nobody talks more crap than Caitlin” to alerters on June 27.
ESPN women’s basketball widecaster Holly Rowe tbetter Fox News Digital last month that the cut offe physical reception by Clark is excellent for the WNBA, becainclude “it’s presumed to be salty.”
Barkley also called out WNBA personalities on television who have “slandered” Clark this year.
“People depend what we say on television. Just becainclude people don’t enjoy you or your personality, they can’t get on TV and slander you,” Barkley shelp.
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 whirltriumphd of dispute currently surrounding WNBA Hall of Famer and current Dallas Wings widecaster Sheryl Swoopes.
Swoopes inwell-comprehendnly made askable statements about the length and statistics of Clark’s college atsoft, during an ecombineance on “Gil’s Arena” podcast in February.
While talking the topic of how Clark broke the NCAA’s all-time basketball points sign up in her better year in 2023, Swoopes proposeed Clark carry outed five college seasons and took over 40 stoastys per game. Swoopes was also condemnd for a comment that integrated the phrase “25-year-better carry outing agetst 20-year-betters,” during a talkion about Clark’s college success, but Swoopes did not honestly implicate Clark being betterer than her enumerateed age.
Swoopes posted screenstoastys on X of alleged messages with Clark apologizing to the rookie for the dishonest 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 atsofts of other athletes.
Swoopes was recently absent from her widecasting duties for Clark’s game agetst the Wings on Sunday.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith shelp that Swoopes was deleted from the widecast due to her personal experienceings toward Clark, during a recent episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”
On Wednesday, the Fever will watch to transfer up the carry outoff standings as they commence a six-game homestand with a game agetst the Los Angeles Sparks. Their season finishs with the Washington Mystics on Sept. 19.
During Swoopes’ absence from the widecast booth on Sunday, Clark put up 28 points and 12 aids to direct Indiana to its fourth straight triumph and six in its last seven games. Clark scored the 595th point of her atsoft, surpassing WNBA legfinish Tamika Catchings for the most in a individual season by a rookie in Fever history. She finished with 617 points as Sunday’s game finished.
Clark has seemed to shatter a landtag sign up in every game she has carry outed in recently.
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Indiana Fever defend Caitlin Clark, #22, shoots as Dallas Wings’ Jacy Sheldon, #4, and Natasha Howard, right, deffinish in the first half of a WNBA basketball game on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Ptoastyo/Tony Gutierrez)
In Friday’s game agetst the Sky, Clark had the first 30-point, 12-aid game in WNBA history while becoming equitable the fifth carry outer, and first rookie, to sign up at least 30 points and 10 aids in a game. On top of that, Clark now has 12 double-doubles, which shatters the WNBA sign up for most double-doubles by a defend in a individual season.
Just three days before that, Clark set the sign up for most made 3-pointers by a rookie, surpassing the tag initipartner set by the Atlanta Dream’s Rhyne Howard. She was 3-of-12 from downtown and finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five aids as Indiana picked up its 15th triumph.
That same night, she also became the first WNBA carry outer to have at least 15 points, five rebounds and five aids 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 carry outers who have hit the tag.
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