Chennedy Carter’s foul on Caitlin Clark led to a rash of polarizing hot takes, and Nancy Lieberman has now stepped into the ring.
Wednesday morning, Lieberman was a guest on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back where she was asked about Carter blindsiding Clark, hip-checking her to the ground during Saturday’s WNBA matchup between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever.
“If I were Caitlin Clark, I would’ve punched her in the face,” Lieberman told Run It Back. “I’m from New York, and I would have told her to, ‘f*ck off.’ That would actually cure the problem.”
In addition to being from New York, Lieberman briefly played in the WNBA when the league launched near the end of her renowned playing career. Lieberman later coached the Detroit Shock and currently contributes as a studio analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s TV broadcast.
“Damn, where’s Caitlin Clark’s teammates? I’d be pissed as sh*t at my teammates if nobody came to my defense,” Lieberman continued, noting great athletes such as Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky were provided enforcers to protect them. “It’s bullsh*t. This has to be better. Indiana has to be better. Someone has to come to this kid’s – I don’t want to say rescue.”
While Clark has been greeted by her opponents with hard fouls and dirty plays since joining the WNBA, Lieberman claimed those players should be showing her gratitude instead.
“People need to thank Caitlin Clark for being that generational athlete that is making them wealthy,” Lieberman added. “They would not have airplanes, charter jets, without her. They wouldn’t have been on TV.”
That narrative is partially why some of Clark’s opponents appear to resent her popularity. The league was working toward getting charter flights before Clark and the players would have been on TV without the WNBA’s newest superstar. Clark has absolutely made the WNBA a bigger part of the national sports conversation, but this is still a league that was growing behind great players and competition.
The concept of a rookie basketball player being tested by their opponents after entering a league with immense hype is not new. Eventually, Clark will have more widespread respect from her peers. But if Clark wants to speed that process up, she could always take Lieberman’s advice by punching someone.
“She’s like LeBron, she doesn’t want to mix it up with people, although she could,” Lieberman said. “But they don’t want to hurt their image.”
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com