Stephen A. Smith was brutally accused of not giving enough coverage to women’s sports on First Take during Monday’s heated episode of the show.
Basketball analyst Monica McNutt joined the show in the wake of Chennedy Carter’s furious shove of Caitlin Clark on a controversial weekend for the WNBA.
General election number 1 was knocked down by Carter towards the end of the third quarter of Indiana The Fever’s victory over Chicago Sky on Saturday.
Television replays appeared to show Carter yelling “bitch” at Clark before pushing her to the ground. Clark’s old college foe, Angel Reese, also stood to applaud the hit on the bench.
After discussing the incident on First Take and what might have driven Carter’s behavior, McNutt ended the segment by questioning Smith’s coverage of women’s sports.
Stephen A. Smith was brutally accused of not giving enough coverage to women’s sports
The First Take panel discussed Chennedy Carter’s shove of Caitlin Clark for 40 minutes.
After Smith asked him “who talks more about women’s sports and the WNBA than First Take?”, McNutt responded, “Respectively, Stephen A., with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to.” .
Smith seemed noticeably furious with the claim and tried to defend herself, telling McNutt that she had “missed a lot of episodes of First Take.”
Host Molly Qerim quickly intervened and ended the 40-minute debate to a commercial break.
It comes after NBA veteran and former champion Matt Barnes further criticized Clark’s Fever teammates, telling them they must do more to protect the franchise’s star player.
He said: ‘I mean, all season, she’s been beaten up. Hard screens, elbows, takedowns,” Barnes said. ‘It is what it is; She’s not the first, she won’t be the last.
‘My problem and my question is: Where the hell are his teammates? Where are you? Where is the rest of the Indiana fever?
‘I’ve seen a couple of girls smile when they knock her down, about to pick her up. You’re all supposed to protect the asset, protect the star. And even though this is a team, you always protect your star.”
Barnes, who played with players like Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul throughout his 14-year career, was an enforcer at times and believes Clark’s teammates need to defend her more.
‘I was someone who protected the stars. If you fuck with Kobe, (Chris Paul), Blake (Griffin), the list goes on, it’s going to be a problem.
‘You guys are supposed to be a family. And you wonder why you’re at the bottom of the league right now, it’s because you guys don’t protect each other, man. The coach doesn’t do anything about it, the players don’t do anything about it. Everyone should be ashamed of it.
But the rest of the league will continue to test it. That’s what they’re supposed to do. It’s your guys’ damn job to support her and each other. I have to do better, ladies.
Clark was inexplicably knocked to the ground by Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter.
And then Carter took a shot at Clark on social media, criticizing his play.
While Carter declined to answer questions about Clark after the Sky’s loss on Saturday, he had plenty to say on social media afterward.
Writing about Clark in Threads, Carter said, “…besides three-point shooting, what does (Clark) bring to the table?”
She also alluded to her beef with Clark on her own Instagram Story, writing, “I grew up with all the brothers.” All we did was fight and argue.
‘I love hate more than love that they don’t understand. I’d rather you hate me (than) love me and I mean it with my dead aunt.
The situation also sparked the idea that the Fever need an ‘enforcer’ to protect Clark, as suggested by the Warriors’ Draymond Green.
Brittany Mahomes also supported Clark and the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes shared a post on Instagram supporting the rookie WNBA star.
Mahomes, 28, a former football player, wrote: ‘@caitlinclark22 keep doing your thing!!
‘You’re a player and it’s amazing to see what you’re doing for the game and women’s sports!!’
Fans noticed that Clark’s boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, has liked tweets criticizing Angel Reese.
McCaffery liked a tweet that claimed Reese “is tall, she’s not hot, she’s just bigger than everyone.”
Colin Clark, Caitlin’s brother, liked a tweet about Reese celebrating Clark’s ‘murder’ on Saturday
Clark’s boyfriend and brother also weighed in on the dispute: They liked tweets criticizing Reese.
Clark is in a relationship with his college girlfriend, Connor McCaffery, and fans have noticed that he has regularly liked posts criticizing Reese over the past year.
In one post, Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy calls Reese a ‘classless piece of shit’ after his infamous ring celebration on Clark during his college days.
In another, McCaffery liked a post that refers to Reese as “tall, not good…she’s just bigger than everyone.”
Clark’s brother Colin hasn’t been afraid to make his own feelings clear either, liking a tweet about Reese ‘jumping off the bench to stage a parade for Caitlin Clark’s murder.’
In another, he liked a tweet that claimed Draymond Green would have “faced jail” if he had done the same thing Carter did to Clark in the Fever-Sky showdown.