Sheryl Swoopes explains mysterious broadcast absence with Caitlin Clark game amid awkward history

Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark and Connecticut Sun forward DeWanna Bonner continue to jaw at each other during their Game 2 matchup

WNBA Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes addressed a controversial absence from the broadcast booth for the Dallas Wings that occurred earlier this year, a game that featured Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. Swoopes has been a harsh critic of Clark, sometimes inciting backlash from WNBA and media peers like Stephen A. Smith and Nancy Lieberman. 

Swoopes did not serve as color commentator for the Wings broadcast on Bally Sports Southwest in the team's game against the Fever on Sept. 1. 

Swoopes said that the reason for this was because she was only signed to a seven-game contract with the Wings and that she had already fulfilled all the appearances on those terms before the Sept. 1 game against the Fever. She gave the explanation in an interview on WNBA rookie Angel Reese's podcast on Thursday while also addressing rumors that she had been fired.

"They were like, ‘Oh Sheryl was replaced, they fired her, they kicked her off the game because it’s Caitlin Clark, and she can't do that game,'" Swoopes said. "I was contracted to do seven Dallas Wings games, so I was never supposed to do that game anyway. But because of everything else, they just kind of figured that because I didn't do that game, well, they fired me, but really my contract was up … and that was it, it wasn't a thing." 

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Sheryl Swoopes of the Houston Comets poses for a portrait during Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on September 5, 1999, in Houston. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Speculation as to why Swoopes was not on the call for the Fever game was influenced by Swoopes'