Monica McNutt slams narrative painting WNBA as anti-Caitlin Clark [Photo Credit: Indiana Fever X handle and Monica McNuttMonica McNutt slams narrative painting WNBA as anti-Caitlin Clark [Photo Credit: X/@indianafever, Instagram/@mcnuttmonica]

Amid the growing Caitlin Clark controversy, ESPN’s Monica McNutt is still holding her ground. After a heated debate with Stephen A. Smith on “First Take” regarding Clark’s popularity, McNutt told Jon Stewart that she was going to stand by her words.

On Monday, McNutt was a guest on “The Daily Show,” hosted by John Stewart. Alluding to the debate surrounding the Caitlin Clark controversy, McNutt said that the WNBA has grown over time and the viewership has increased every year.

“This league has seen its best viewership year to year. Now, yes, it has absolutely been taken over the top this year. But this has been a snowballing effect to get to this moment,” McNutt said.

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She added that she will keep speaking for all the women who are as worthy of coverage as Clark is.

“While Caitlin is fantastic and I think she is gonna have an incredible career in the WNBA, there are women that were worthy of coverage prior to her arriving, and I just will not be silenced when it comes to that,” McNutt said.

The basketball analyst added that one of the reasons the physicality of the WNBA has been in focus is that a large part of the fanbase only watched college basketball and not the WNBA.

According to McNutt, if fans have just started watching the WNBA without having followed the league for a few years, it will appear overly physical to them.

What did Monica McNutt say to Stephen A. Smith in the Caitlin Clark debate?

In a heated debate on ESPN’s “First Take,” Monica McNutt set the record straight with Stephen A. Smith. During the heated discussion, they spoke about the hard foul by Chennedy Carter on Caitlin Clark in their June 1 matchup.

Smith said that the WNBA players should compete against Clark, but that they should also protect a player like Clark who could take the league to the next level. However, McNutt said that a lot of women deserve respect and fame who previously paved the way for players like Clark.

Later, Smith said that his show covers the WNBA more than any other show covering sports. In reply, McNutt did not hold back and said that he could have done it years ago but was doing it only this year because Caitlin Clark arrived.

“Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to,” McNutt retorted.

Smith was clearly taken aback by McNutt’s comments.

McNutt said that the foul by Chennedy Carter wasn’t a good look. However, she also said the action of one player should not paint the entire picture of the WNBA and that it would be unfair to players who are just competing hard.