Sheryl Swoopes Reacts To Caitlin Clark As TIME Athlete Of The Year, Wants To Know The Criteria

Caitlin Clark has been named TIME's Athlete of the Year for 2024. And, not surprisingly, Sheryl Swoopes has questions.

Swoopes has, for whatever reason, made it a point to become Clark's biggest critic. Sure, she acknowledges that Clark is good at basketball. But anytime the WNBA legend says something positive about the Indiana Fever star, she feels the need to qualify it immediately with some sort of criticism. And this time is no different.

During an appearance this week on the Gil’s Arena podcast, Swoopes discussed Clark's latest honor.

"I don’t think I’m surprised," Swoopes said, after looking up at the ceiling and a long pause. "I’m curious to know who the other candidates were, but the fact that that’s the very first WNBA player to ever win TIME Magazine Athlete of the Year is pretty special."

But there's always a caveat. And that part came next.

"My question is, like the criteria, is it based off of her performance on the court?" Swoopes asked. "Which, yeah, she had a great year, or is it more about the impact that she had on the game this season?"

READ: Sheryl Swoopes Is Addicted To Saying Dumb Things About Caitlin Clark, Claims She Isn't 'Dominating' As Rookie

For the record, TIME made it clear in the article why Clark won the award — citing not only her record-breaking rookie year stats but also the fact that she set viewership and attendance records for both the WNBA and the Indiana Fever.

Despite all that, though, Clark took constant heat (and cheap fouls) throughout the 2024 season, and her fans were often called racist for supporting a white player in a league of mostly black athletes. Many athletes and media personalities (like Sheryl Swoopes) argued that much of Clark's popularity could be attributed to her skin color, not her skills on the basketball court.

READ: Caitlin Clark 'White Privilege' Comments Expose Double Standard With Angel Reese | Dan Zaksheske

Sheryl Swoopes questioned the criteria for Caitlin Clark's Athlete of the Year honor.

(Joe Camporeale / D. Ross Cameron - Imagn Images)

In the interview for TIME, Clark acknowledged this so-called white "privilege," adding that it's important to "elevate black women" in the league.

Clearly, though, that's not good enough for Swoopes.