Stephen A. Smith isn’t dismissing a Wall Street Journal op-ed making the controversial argument that the federal government should investigate the WNBA for its treatment of Caitlin Clark.
The opinion piece – written by Sean McLean, a former staffer in the first Trump White House and in two congressional GOP offices – argues that Clark is the victim of a hostile work environment.
McLean – who stunningly compared Clark to Michael Jordan – argues that Clark’s treatment, and what he perceives to be a lack of response from the WNBA, should be investigated and questioned by Congress and the Labor Department.
The piece was divisive – with McLean receiving plenty of backlash on social media WNBA analysts, commentators, and fans; not only for the content of his piece, but also for his ‘misleading’ use of a quote from Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson.
Wilson made a comment to the Associated Press last year in the context of Clark’s boosted popularity in the league, where she said Clark’s race was a ‘huge thing’ and that, ‘I think a lot of people may say it’s not about Black and white, but to me it is… it boils my blood when people say it’s not about race, because it is’. Despite this being the context of her words, McLean used that quote to claim Wilson believes Clark is being targeted because she is white.
In spite of the fervor the piece stirred up, Smith believes there may be support for an investigation into this matter.
A Wall Street Journal op-ed is calling for Congress to investigate the WNBA for creating a hostile work environment for Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark
While that piece received backlash, Stephen A. Smith thinks it may come to fruition
Clark has not played since July 15 after she re-aggravated an injury to her groin
‘I’m not here saying the case will be won by the government if it gets to the points. I’m saying they have a case, they have an argument,’ Smith said of the idea during an episode of his self-titled podcast on Tuesday.
Smith, the host and executive producer of ESPN’s ‘First Take’, also suggested that President Donald Trump could use this investigation to solidify support among his followers.
‘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?’
‘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?’
Clark has not played in a game since July 15 after she re-aggravated a groin injury which kept her out for an extended period in late June. She does not yet have a timetable to return.
