WNBA legend Cheryl Miller is dunking on current WNBA players who sought to belittle Caitlin Clark’s impact on the league, calling them “big dummies.”
After a rookie season that saw Clark receive unprecedented verbal and physical abuse at the hands of apparently jealousy-crazed fellow players who resented her the success and attention she received, Miller appeared on the All the Smoke podcast with former NBA great Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, to take current WNBA players to task for their treatment of Clark.
“I’m gonna be honest, because it needs to be said,” she said. “I can relate to that young lady, and I felt for her. I know what it’s like to be hated. I know what it’s like to be a Black woman and to be hated because of my color. I can’t imagine this young lady, I don’t want to use hate, but despised.
“She brought some on herself, a little bit, because she’s cocky for a good reason. And I love that about her. But to watch the dynamics, and the media, they had their narrative. And I was pleased and proud to see the narrative wasn’t the truth. And Angel (Reese) and her got along so well.”
Miller continued, “I didn’t know how talented she was and how well she sees the game in a 3D version, a thinker. Defensively, a lot better than I thought, and gave her credit for. So, watching her and just spending a little time … And one thing guys, that I’ve learned, is to step back and let these kids be themselves.”
However, when it came to those who refused to give Clark her due for elevating the WNBA, Miller did not mince words.
“I was like, ‘Come on, you big dummies!’ Is she getting hyped? Yes. But she was in the backyard, she was putting in the same time – maybe more than you were,” Miller said. “I can’t fault her for what she was given. Look, as much as she was given, you can’t tell me that door would’ve swung the other way where she didn’t live up to the hype. Come on, folks are still waiting for her to fall.”
Clark will have another, even better chance to impact the league in her sophomore season. The Fever spent the offseason revamping their team by hiring a new head coach and making several key free agent acquisitions. The Fever are scheduled to play a record 41 games on national television this season.
