Sheryl Swoopes addresses Caitlin Clark's comments

Sheryl Swoopes said she spoke with Iowa guard Caitlin Clark about her controversial comments about Clark's record-setting season.

“A few weeks ago I reached out to (LSU's Angel Reese) and had a really good conversation with Angel over the phone and messaged Caitlin. She replied. Her and I went back and forth,” Swoopes said during the Baylor-Texas Tech broadcast on Sunday. “I won't share what she said, I'll leave that up to her if she wants to share. But I will say, what I said to her was, “I made a mistake saying it was your fifth year when it was your fourth year.”

“I have nothing but respect for what she has done for the game. If she wants to tell me what her reaction was and how that conversation went, I'll leave that up to her. But it was a very good conversation.”

When Swoopes was asked on the “Gil's Arena” show a few weeks ago if Clark had broken the Division I career scoring record previously held by Kelsey Plum, he incorrectly said Clark did so in her fifth year.

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 has scored 22.7 field goals per game this season.

The comments caused a stir after making the rounds on social media. That conversation was heightened when a handful of Iowa fans seated courtside at a recent game wore shirts that read: “Don't Be A Sheryl.” Many within the women's basketball community came to the defense of four-time WNBA champion Swoopes, including Reese — who had her own viral moment with Clark during the 2023 NCAA title game — who tweeted, “I want to be like @airswoopes22.”

What those viral clips didn't show was the part of the conversation where Josiah Johnson said this is Clark's fourth season at Iowa. Gilbert Arenas said: “So these stats are important, next year's stats – they should just be, we don't count that.” Swoopes replied, “That's true.”

Swoopes was also asked during the show about Clark's transition to the WNBA.

“Will Caitlin Clark be a good professional? Absolute. Will Caitlin Clark come to the WNBA and immediately do what she's doing now? Absolutely not. That's not going to happen,” she said.

Before making that statement, Swoopes referenced previous comments she made during the show in October. During that segment, she said she thought Reese's dominance would last a few seasons before moving on to the WNBA.

On both the October show and this recent episode, Swoopes addressed the challenges all rookies have in making the leap due to the talent level, how few roster spots there are in the WNBA and how those roster spots are largely occupied by veterans.

“I really think these two players will not only get there,” Swoopes said of Clark and Reese, “but they'll be great WNBA players. They will get there. But more than that, I think their popularity will definitely be good for the league and attract fans that the league hasn't had before. And that is something the league needs now.”

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