WNBA analyst Rachel DeMita pointed out that Sheryl Swoopes once again disregarded a Caitlin Clark achievement. The Indiana Fever star was named the 2024 AP Female Athlete of the Year after her exceptional rookie season, adding more accolades to her impressive resume.
During Thursday’s episode of her “Courtside Club” podcast, DeMita discussed the outstanding 2024 season of Clark, who continues to receive recognition and awards despite being out of action since September. While discussing Clark’s AP honor, she made a dig at Swoopes.
“Clark is only the fourth women’s basketball player to be honored as the female athlete of the year since it was presented in 1931, joining Sheryl Swoopes, Rebecca Lobo, and Candace Parker.”
“What I found interesting is that Rebecca Lobo and Candace Parker both publicly congratulated Caitlin on winning this award, and of course, the third person on this list did not.”
Sheryl Swoopes has been involved in multiple negative incidents regarding Clark. There were at least five instances where she spoke negatively about the 2024 Rookie of the Year, including downplaying Clark breaking Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record, claiming that Clark was 25 and played against 20-year-old opponents, and even stating that she was taking 40 shots per game.
Despite her rebuttals to the accusations, Swoopes’ words, or lack thereof, do not help her change the narrative.
WNBA analyst explains why Caitlin Clark deserved all the awards she won this year
In addition to highlighting that Sheryl Swoopes continues to ignore Caitlin Clark’s greatness, Rachel DeMita also discussed why the former No. 1 overall pick is the rightful recipient of all these honors and awards.
“So there are arguments with her winning this award, and it was the same thing when she won the TIME Magazine award as to, ‘Why is Caitlin Clark winning these awards when it was an Olympic year. There are other athletes who competed on a global stage. Caitlin Clark wasn’t even invited to go to the Olympics.’
“What I think a lot of people are missing when we talk about these global and national awards that Caitlin Clark is winning this year, it is more about her impact on the sport and how she elevated an entire sport. It’s more about that and less about how she played on the court.”
The most incredible part of this is that Clark just played her first season as a pro, and she’s only going to improve from now on.
Edited by Steven Kubitza
