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Caitlin Clark might be one of the most highly-rated athletes across any sport, men or women's as the WNBA star prepares for her first season of professional basketball, and despite being known for her personality she was a little frosty with Sheryl Swoopes based on their history.
Swoopes, a WNBA legend, previously contested Clark's NCAA women's points record, when she surpassed Kelsey Plum with the Iowa Hawkeyes, by asserting that Clark had played an extra season due to Covid-19, but this was incorrect.
The 53-year-old apologized later on with proverbial egg on her face. However, they were thrust into a slightly awkward moment as guess who was conducting the post-game interviews following Clark's debut with the Indiana Fever?
The 22-year-old, who was struggling to keep her emotions in check based on the beaming smile that kept threatening to break through, was very kind to Swoopes although she made it clear it was on professional terms by only answering the questions asked.
Of course, as is the trend with modern social media, an incorrect statement about someone will mean you're branded a "hater" for life as tribalism continues to spiral out of control on the internet and fans were quick to praise Clark for not being petty about something she probably doesn't care about.
Clark posted 21 points and three rebounds during her WNBA, which is unsurprisingly down on her NCAA numbers but remains very impressive for the preseason-debutant.
What did Swoopes say?
The comments came around Thursday, February 15, 2024, when Clark smashed Kelsey Plum's scoring record against the Michigan Wolverines at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in an achievement that only felt like a matter of when, not if.
Clark posted an incredible 49 points in the win and claimed the record via a three-pointer as she passed Plum's score of 3527 points. However, Swoopes contested this by feeling Clark had an extra year in what later transpired to be a lack of knowledge rather than bad intentions.
"If Kelsey Plum set that record in four years, well, Caitlin should've broke that record in four years," Swoopes said back when Clark smashed the record. "But because there's a COVID year, and then there's another year, you know what I mean?
"So, she's already had an extra year to break that record. So, is it truly a broken record? I don't know. I don't think so. But yeah, that'll go in the record books. And, I don't think it should be."