Cheryl Swoopes said she has spoken with Iowa State guard Caitlin Clark to address her controversial comments about Clark’s record-breaking season.
“I reached out to (LSU’s Angel Reese) a few weeks ago and had a really nice conversation with Angel on the phone and sent Caitlin a message. She responded. She and I went back and forth,” Swoopes said on Sunday’s Baylor-Texas Tech broadcast. “I’m not going to share what she said, I’ll leave it to her if she wants to share it. But what I will say is, what I said to her was, ‘I made the mistake of saying this was your fifth year, when in reality This is your fourth year.’
“I have nothing but respect for everything she has done for the sport. If she wants to share her response and how the conversation went, I’ll leave that to her. But it was a very good conversation.”
On “Gill Arena” a few weeks ago, when asked if Clark had broken the Division I career scoring record previously held by Kelsey Plumb, Swoopes incorrectly stated that Clark was in the Five years to do this.
Clark is a fourth-year player (these comments were made before Clark broke the record last week). She also said Clark takes “about 40 shots a game.” Clark is averaging 22.7 shots per game this season.
The comments caused an uproar after they circulated on social media. The discussion intensified when several Iowa State fans sitting courtside at a recent game wore shirts that read “Don’t Be Cheryl.” Many in the women’s basketball world came to the four-time WNBA champion Swoopes’ defense, including Reese, who went viral alongside Clark in the 2023 NCAA Championship Game, who tweeted: “I want to be like @airswoopes22.”
The viral clips don’t show Josiah Johnson speaking during the conversation, which is Clark’s fourth season at Iowa. Gilbert Arenas said, “So these statistics are important, the statistics should be like this next year, we don’t count this.” Swoopes replied, “It is.”
Swoopes was also asked on the show about Clark’s move to the WNBA.
“Is Caitlin Clark going to be a good pro? Absolutely. Is Caitlin Clark going to go into the WNBA right away and do what she’s doing now? Absolutely not. Not going to happen,” she said.
Before making this statement, Swoopes referenced comments she made on the show in October. In that video, she said she thought Reese’s dominance would take a few seasons to transition to the WNBA.
On the show in October and in a recent episode, Swoopes talked about the challenges all rookies face in making the jump due to their talent level, the paucity of roster spots in the WNBA and the fact that those spots are mostly occupied by veterans.
“I do think — these two players — are not only going to get there,” Swoopes said of Clark and Reese, “but they’re going to be great WNBA players. They’re going to get there. But more importantly The thing is, I think their popularity will definitely be good for the league and bring fans that the league has never had before. That’s what the league needs right now.”
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