Stephen A Smith and Sue Bird, Credit: © Tori Lynn Schneider / USA TODAY NETWORK, © Jon Durr-Imagn Images

Caitlin Clark played a major role in attracting significant viewership for the WNBA in the recent past. However, even in her absence, Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx broke the record for most viewers since 1998 Finals Game 1 (1.14 million). This prompted Sue Bird to call out ESPN analysts Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe for undermining the WNBA’s success in attracting fans with or without Clark.

The league and the game are bigger than a star, she seemed to insinuate while arguing that even though the viewership numbers have fallen a bit, they are still at an all-time high since the WNBA semi-finals. SAS had a seething response to Bird on his eponymous show.

He conveyed that he was merely doing his job as a journalist, pointing out the decline in WNBA viewership since Clark’s season ended in late September using the available data. He argued that the increase in the viewership during the subsequent rounds has also been a result of CC bringing in new fans, and some of them have stayed for the full ride.

Additionally, the 56-year-old couldn’t understand why some WNBA superstars wanted to tear down Clark’s name. He recalled how Larry Bird and Magic Johnson acknowledged Michael Jordan’s contributions in elevating the NBA, despite him replacing them as the face of the league during the late 1980s.

“Magic Johnson did great things for the NBA, Larry Bird did great great things for the NBA but when that brother Michael Jordan came along, they stood down, not on the basketball court competing against him but nobody complained about the shine he received. One reason was because they knew he deserved it.”

Instead of bringing down his name, they let him bask in the limelight. As per Stephen A. Smith, WNBA greats should follow suit too. SAS argued,

“You know what the other reason was, it built the profile of the NBA and made the ratings blow up and took it off the tape delay and put it on prime time television. If the ladies, meaning all of you collectively grasp that concept fully, devoid of resentment, you too share the reap the benefits of somebody like Caitlin Clark coming along and anybody with a similar impact who follows suit.”

SAS was annoyed that Bird was questioning his journalistic integrity. He maintained that he has tried his best to cover the Caitlin Clark story in the most objective possible way. Thus, for him, Bird’s swipe was unnecessary.

What did Sue Bird say?

On the October 9 episode of her A Touch More podcast, Sue Bird and co-host Megan Rapinoe complained about Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe using WNBA viewership numbers in a misleading manner.

Bird acknowledged Clark’s contributions in bringing a major audience but also wanted other WNBA superstars to get their dues. She couldn’t fathom why SAS and Sharpe, both working for ESPN, would try to create a narrative against players not named Caitlin Clark, especially when the network broadcasts their games. She opined,

“In the WNBA [Semifinals]… where Caitlin obviously is not in it cause her team lost, are still breaking records from previous WNBA years. So these numbers are still really high, and they’re still really meaningful. And yet some people continue to flip that… I’ve seen Stephen A. Smith talk about it, I’ve seen Shannon Sharpe talk about it. And what I don’t understand is, they work for ESPN. So why are you hating on a [business] ESPN is in?”

Thus, Caitlin Clark has been a huge topic on ESPN despite the ongoing WNBA playoffs and the upcoming NBA regular season. CC has indeed brought mainstream attention to the WNBA, but some greats seek recognition for the entire talent pool.