Sheryl Swoopes Explains That She Doesn’t Hate Caitlin Clark

Sheryl Swoopes has been labelled a Caitlin Clark hater, but she has attempted to clear the air about the Indiana rookie.

Swoopes has been fairly critical of Clark since he entered the league and just last week, made the claim that her Fever teammaes don’t like playing there because of the negative attention from Clark’s fans. 

Ironically, she chose to clear the air on a podcast with Clark’s rookie rival, Angel Reese.

“So when you say Sheryl Swoopes and Caitlin Clark, it’s like ‘Oh my goodness, Sheryl doesn’t like her, so let’s see what this is about,’” Swoopes said to Reese on her podcast Unapologetically Angel.

“All of that is stupid to me. It’s not true. It’s all stupid. Like, when I look at the number 22s in the league… I was 22, A’ja [Wilson] is 22, Caitlin is 22, those are some hell of a good number 22s. And we’re all a part of the Nike family. A lot of the stuff people are trying to say is there, it just does not exist.

“Like, I’m tired of it,” Swoopes continued, before Reese added, “It’s tiring.”

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Swoopes continued, “And I can’t only imagine that [Caitlin] has to be tired of it as well. There was nothing there.”

The WNBA legend did make one admission about the Indiana sensation.

“The only time I made a mistake talking about Caitlin and what she’s done is on the podcast back in February, that I apologized for. But it’s like, ‘Nope. You hate her.’

Towards the end of the episode, Swoopes did go on to speak positively about Clark.

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“I’m going to give Caitlin Clark her flowers,” Swoopes said. “Yes, I said that… I’m going to give Caitlin her flowers because I think what she has done coming into this league absolutely has brought more eyes, whether you like them or not. But has brought more eyes, more marketing. Like people just want to watch the game, and they want to talk about it.”

Sheryl Swoopes reveals what she said privately to Caitlin Clark in apology

The WNBA legend also mentioned that Angel Reese helped put an end to the feud.

Sheryl Swoopes and Caitlin Clark.LAPRESSE

Even the greats of basketball, or any sport, sometimes make mistakes. For Sheryl Swoopes, that happened a couple of weeks ago.

The WNBA legend went on the Gil’s Arena and slightly downplayed Caitlin Clark‘s newly minted NCAAW points record, incorrectly stating that Clark broke Kelsey Plum‘s record with an extra year of eligibility.

Swoopes sounds off: Sheryl Swoopes’ take on Caitlin Clark ignites discussionInstagram

Sheryl Swoopes’ private apology to Caitlin ClarkNot only did Clark do it in four years, she also did it in less games than Plum. After a brief conversation with Angel Reese, Swoopes apologized privately to Clark, and she has now revealed what she said to the Iowa Hawkeyes star.

But I will say, what I said to her was, ‘I made a mistake in saying it was your fifth year when it is your fourth. I have nothing but respect for what she has done for the game. If she wants to share what her response was and how that conversation went, I’ll leave that to her. But it was a really good conversation.

Per The Athletic

Swoopes apologized for the mistake, but it doesn’t seem like she’s backtracking on her comments about Clark’s potential transition to the WNBA. Swoopes had said Clark’s college game won’t immediately translate because she “probably takes about 40 shots a game“, something that’s impossible in the WNBA.

For now, it seems like Clark can put this “feud” in the rearview mirror and focus on the end of her fourth, and likely final, season in college basketball.