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Sheryl Swoopes and Nancy Lieberman escalate Caitlin Clark’s feud

Vaseline September 4, 2024

The rift in the friendship between two legendary female basketball legends may be beyond repair, given comments made by Nancy Lieberman and Sheryl Swoopes over the past 24 hours.

Differing opinions about the impact current star player Caitlin Clark has had on the sport have driven a wedge between the Hall of Famers, with Lieberman even saying the two are no longer in a relationship.

“My life is going to be beautiful with or without Sheryl Swoopes,” Lieberman said Monday on a podcast hosted by ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.

Later that evening, Swoopes responded on social media: “My life is good without you (and him) too.”

Lieberman told Smith that the disagreement dates back to comments Swoopes made in February on former NBA star Gilbert Arenas’ podcast in which she downplayed Clark’s breaking of the NCAA record for career scoring.

Swoopes incorrectly stated that Clark had benefited from an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID pandemic when she passed Kelsey Plum as the all-time women’s Division I points leader. Lieberman said she called Swoopes as a friend to let her know of the error.

“Well, she got mad at me on the phone,” Lieberman told Smith. “And I was like, ‘Sheryl, I’m not doing anything to hurt you. I’m just sharing.’ And so our relationship is basically nonexistent at this point.”

Lieberman also criticized Swoopes for not even mentioning Clark on a recent episode of her own podcast, while praising several other Indiana Fever members for the team’s run since the Olympic break.

However, Swoopes refuted the impression that she had anything against Clark, going so far as to post screenshots of a text message between the two from February to her X account on Monday afternoon.

In the exchange, Swoopes admits she “made a mistake in what this year is for you. Covid year has me all messed up… Lol! I have nothing but respect for you and your game too.”

Clark responded by saying she held “no grudge” toward Swoopes, adding, “I appreciate what you’ve done for women’s basketball and for inspiring girls like me…”