Stephen A. Smith went on a Caitlin Clark-fueled racial rant in the WNBA this week, bringing up what he believes her rise has exposed about society, while mentioning Martin Luther King and Donald Trump.
Smith spoke out about Clark in this case after Connecticut Sun star DiJonai Carrington took issue with Clark’s lack of a brazen statement to disassociate himself from those who use his name to weaponize widespread racism and misogyny.
Clark responded directly when asked about those claims, but Smith thought the exchange had a broader meaning.
The Indiana Fever star was at the forefront of women’s basketball during her rookie season in the WNBA, thrusting her into an unprecedented spotlight for the sport and the league.
On Sunday, Clark’s rival Angel Reese said he is getting a ‘special whistle’ after a difference in referee calls against his team compared to the Fever.
Caitlin Clark has been at the forefront of the WNBA’s popularity this year with the Fever.
Smith named Donald Trump and Martin Luther King to make his point about race and Clark.
“There is a broader problem here that cannot be escaped,” Smtih said. “And she is a young white woman and she has been a magnet in some ways, that has benefited the league in ways that others have not, even though her efforts have been worthy and deserving of being so celebrated, yes not even more celebrated.” .’
Then Smith mentioned the former American president.
‘You have someone who is a presidential candidate. What is your claim to fame? “Make America great again,” Smith said, referring to Trump. What have people interpreted that to mean? “Make America White Again”‘.
‘What has that led to? A division,” Smith continued. ‘It is not a division that is created. It is a division that is illuminated because it stands out and shows that it has existed forever. It has not gone anywhere.
Smith’s entire soliloquy about Clark lasted almost five minutes, although she said she thinks Clark is “box office” and will be a wonderful player in the WNBA.
The ESPN personality isn’t the first to question whether Clark’s popularity is primarily due to his race, and Charlamagne tha God recently did the same.
‘Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others were trying to make things happen in the ’50s, in the ’60s Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, everyone knows it was something that was orchestrated because it was necessary a bigger topic. addressed,” Smith said of race relations.
Clark returned to action on Sunday, helping his team to victory over the Chicago Sky.
Reese committed a flagrant foul on Clark during the game but was not ejected from the play.
Chennedy Carter brutally hit Clark on the shoulder during the Fever-Sky game on Saturday.
‘And they had to find the right person to address it. “And throughout history, we’ve seen a lot of things happen and happen where the light shone on an individual and it was orchestrated and plotted and planned because a bigger message and a bigger problem needed to be addressed,” he continued. Smith.
“But the right person had to come along a long time ago to give us the license to address it, and it may not have been of his own volition and it happens,” Smith added.
Smith’s rant has received mixed reviews, including from conservative commentator Clay Travis.
‘Caitlin Clark has broken ESPN. They have no idea how to address black lesbian women who hate her because she’s white and straight, because that destroys identity politics, so you get word salads like this,” Travis said on X.
Clark has been involved in two major controversies this season, both against the Chicago Sky.
First, Chennedy Carter brutally checked Clark with his hip on an inbounds play that was clearly not in line with a typical basketball play.
The body check, and Carter’s stated lack of remorse for it, ignited several days of controversy on social media that divided fans and led to accusations of racism from both sides.
Then on Sunday, Reese, Clark’s constant rival, committed a flagrant foul in which the former Iowa star was hit in the head, sending her to the court in pain.
Those incidents have led some to believe that Clark is being subjected to rough play by his opponents.
