ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith issued a warning to the WNBA and expressed his support of a federal investigation into the treatment of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
Amid criticism of the league for not doing enough to protect Clark from the many controversial physical plays against her, Smith addressed a Wall Street Journal op-ed that recently called for a federal probe. Titled “The WNBA and Caitlin Clark’s Civil Rights,” the opinion piece called for a federal investigation into “potential civil rights violations.”
Smith backed the idea during his Tuesday podcast.
(Video Credit: Stephen A. Smith)
“I’m not here saying the case will be won by the government if it gets to the point. I’m saying they have a case, they have an argument,” he said before suggesting the issue could become a national one and that President Donald Trump could use it to his advantage.
“Do we doubt that at his discretion, at his disposal, if he finds this to be an issue that is politically expedient to him, that Trump won’t use this to feed his base?” Smith said. “If [Clark] is seen to be physically getting abused on the basketball court in a way that is such a clear and flagrant discrepancy compared to what happens to others, that that man is not going to say something?”
“You don’t think Catilin Clark could become an issue of national, potentially international, and definitely federal proportions?” he added, bringing up recent settlements between Columbia University and the Trump administration over alleged civil rights violations against Jewish students.
“If the Trump administration can settle with Columbia for a $221 million settlement over what’s taken place on a campus, you think you can definitively rule out what kind of noise could be made if the WNBA continues to allow this treatment of Caitlin Clark?” Smith asked.
In the WSJ op-ed, Sean McLean argued that the WNBA “has fostered a hostile workplace” for Clark and urged Congress and the Trump administration to “demand answers from WNBA leaders, investigate officiating and internal league communications, hold hearings, and insist on real reforms.”
“The Labor Department should review league protocols for workplace safety. If evidence shows discrimination or retaliation, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division must act. If leaders remain inert, Congress should reconsider the WNBA’s special privileges, including its antitrust and broadcast considerations,” the piece continued.
“Checking referees’ work with NBA-style ‘Last Two Minute Reports’ would be a meaningful first step toward building trust,” McLean wrote.
Smith agreed and put the WNBA on notice.
“WNBA, you’ve been forewarned. You gotta address this,” he said.
“Last two-minute reports from the referees,” Smith added. “Institute that immediately.”
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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