Sheryl Swoopes dismisses claims she was removed from Fever game broadcast over criticism of Caitlin Clark

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes has addressed allegations that she was removed from the commentary booth during an Indiana Fever game due to her criticisms of Caitlin Clark.

During an appearance on Angel Reese's podcast, the 53-year-old clarified that she was "never supposed to do that game anyway."

Sheryl Swoopes addresses speculation surrounding her absence from Indiana Fever game commentary

Sheryl Swoopes, who had been calling Dallas Wings games for Bally Sports Southwest, was noticeably absent from the booth during the team's September 1 game against the Indiana Fever.

This prompted many, including ESPN's Stephen A Smith, to speculate that she was taken off the game. However, on Reese's podcast, Swoopes explained that her contract with Bally Sports had already expired prior to the game, as per the Daily Mail. 

The three-time WNBA MVP said, "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.'"

"I was contracted to do seven Dallas Wings games, so I was never supposed to do that game anyway. But because of everything else, [people] 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," explained Swoopes. 

Ron Thulin and Nancy Lieberman took over the commentary for that game, and the latter appeared to agree with Smith's theory during her appearance on his show.

She implied that network producers likely removed Swoopes to avoid any obvious bias in the broadcast.

Sheryl Swoopes' criticism of Caitlin Clark

Sheryl Swoopes' criticisms of Caitlin Clark have drawn considerable attention.

Back in March, she faced backlash for claiming that Clark's NCAA D1 scoring record "wasn't legitimate" due to her being a 25-year-old player in her fifth year, while Clark was 22 and in her fourth season.

In August, Swoopes notably did not mention Clark when discussing the Fever’s strong form following the Olympics, which Smith condemned.

"Respectfully, Sheryl Swoopes, do you have any idea how that makes you look? Do you have any idea how that serves to stain any kind of critique of Caitlin Clark?" remarked the NBA analyst.

He added, "Because it gives fodder to those who believe she's being hated and ostracized to some degree. Do you realize, Sheryl Swoopes, you're insane to do that? Let me tell you why you're insane to do that. Because, Sheryl Swoopes, you're one of the greatest players ever in the history of basketball, that's why."

Highlighting Swoopes' extensive accolades, Smith noted, "You won a championship in college at Texas Tech. You won three Olympic gold medals. You won four WNBA championships. You know basketball. You know basketball better than me; you know basketball better than any of the pundits. You know basketball better than most of the men that play basketball. There is no way in hell you just accidentally left Caitlin Clark's name out of that soliloquy that you dropped about the Indiana Fever - stop it."

Earlier this month, Swoopes also stated that she did not believe Clark, who was named WNBA's Rookie of the Year, had been "dominating" the league.

Despite her comments, Rookie of the Year voters disagreed, and Clark, whose team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, is expected to come back even stronger next season.