Monday’s edition of First Take featured a fiery segment where Stephen A. Smith and Monica McNutt passionately broke down media coverage in the WNBA. The conversation quickly devolved into a discussion of how the sport is covered by that show and the media as a whole.
This conversation spurred from Saturday’s highly discussed matchup between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever where Sky guard Chennedy Carter committed a hard foul that bordered on the line of dirty on Caitlin Clark.
McNutt offered her frustrations as to how the WNBA has been covered this season, including how media outlets that haven’t covered the league in the past are now getting involved due to Clark’s popularity.
Stephen A. then quickly responded by claiming that First Take has covered the sport “more than anyone”. McNutt rebutted by critiquing First Take, saying that Smith and the show “could have been doing this three years ago” before Clark grew the popularity of the sport.
Stephen A. Smith: "Who talks about the WNBA, who talks about women, who talks about women's sports more than First Take?"
Monica McNutt: "Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to."
Stephen A.: "Wow." pic.twitter.com/szQXOPQ3h4
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 3, 2024
McNutt’s criticisms raise an interesting point. How many talk shows on numerous networks, including First Take, have made this incident involving Chennedy Carter and Caitlin Clark more of a story than it actually should be just because of how big of a star Clark happens to be?
McNutt continued with her thoughts on the matter during an appearance on the Nightcap podcast with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, saying that she believes that the media has created an “unfair” of the majority of the WNBA players being against Clark.
“I get that we’re at a special place when it comes to women’s basketball and the growth of the game,” said McNutt. “I think what I was frustrated with in our conversation earlier is that we can hold more than one truth. The idea of some players being jealous (of Clark)? Yes, that probably exists. But I think since Caitlin’s debut, there has been a large and loud push that it’s Caitlin versus the (WNBA). And that is unfair. I mean, would you be jealous of someone who got a $28 million shoe deal before they ever stepped foot in the pros? I just need all of us to do a better job holding room for multiple truths. The prevailing idea that it is the WNBA versus Caitlin and that these women don’t understand the power of the eyeball she’s brought to the league. That’s just unfair.”
Monica McNutt joins Nightcap to discuss her viral moment today on first take@ShannonSharpe @ochocinco @McNuttMonica @ShayShayMedia_
Tune in now: https://t.co/Lo6hEwXzfp pic.twitter.com/flmGrW6Wwt
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) June 4, 2024
McNutt believes that Carter’s actions, and following criticisms of Clark, are more of a one-off event than how the rest of the WNBA as a whole feels about Clark. Time will tell whether that ends up being the case as Clark continues in her rookie season.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.