With all the attention geared towards Caitlin Clark and her WNBA debut, the conversation about the professional league is finally getting some shine in the mainstream. Last week, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith tried to take credit for regularly talking about the league on his First Take program but was met with resistance from fellow sportscaster, Monica McNutt. In response to his declaration
, she told Smith that he “could have been doing this three years ago” if he wanted.That discussion occurred on June 3, and she hasn’t been back on the program since, leaving Smith speechless.
She did alert her X followers that she was alive and well and that she and Smith were “all good.” She explained that she had been on the road covering the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics.
McNutt appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and discussed the incident and why she felt so passionate about the topic regarding coverage of the WNBA.
“It’s unfair to the women that have been there building the league to this moment so that Caitlin Clark’s popularity can take it to the next level. So, by the end of the show, my tone had changed, and I kind of needed to put my foot down a little bit.”
She made it a point to mention that Clark will make the league more exciting and attract more attention. She also wants to acknowledge that there are other great players in the WNBA
holding it down.“So while Caitlin is fantastic and I think she’s going to have an incredible career in the WNBA, there were women that were worthy of coverage prior to her arriving and I just will not be silenced when it comes to that.”