ESPN's Stephen A Smith says some WNBA players jealous of Caitlin Clark, suggests race is component

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Caitlin Clark was on the receiving end of a hard foul from Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter during the Indiana Fever’s close win on Saturday, and it quickly became the talk of the sports world.

With Carter criticizing Clark’s game in a post on Threads, the drama bled into Monday and was the first topic of discussion on ESPN’s "First Take" with Stephen A. Smith, Monica McNutt, Shannon Sharpe and even host Molly Qerim offering their opinions on the matter.

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The WNBA drama bled into Monday and was the first topic of discussion on ESPN’s "First Take" with Stephen A. Smith. (Mike Kirschbaum/NBAE via Getty Images)

Smith said he believed there were WNBA players who were jealous of the attention Clark has received since entering the league and suggested race may play a part in it.

"There are girls – young ladies – in the WNBA who are jealous of Caitlin Clark. She is a White girl that has come into the league," Smith said. "She has bursted onto the scene. She hasn’t proven herself yet. It’s not even about them thinking they’re better than her because they probably know it at this particular juncture because they’ve been playing on a level she just arrived to.

"Where the resentment comes in is the hard work, the commitment, the dedication, the pounding of the pavement, the being on the grind all of these years trying to uplift this brand that is the WNBA and is women’s professional basketball and all of their efforts were in vain until this girl comes along and takes the league by storm, takes the sport by form in college and has accomplished in a short period of time what they haven’t been