Stephen A. Smith Slams Caitlin Clark & Stephanie White For Failing to End Discourse: “Y’all Dancing”

Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham came out in defense of their head coach Stephanie White after the latter slammed her critics.

Stephen A. Smith Slams Caitlin Clark & Stephanie White For Failing to End Discourse: “Y’all Dancing”

Caitlin Clark, Stephanie White, and Stephen A. Smith (Image via Clutch Points/ESPN/X)

Over the past 24 hours, Stephanie White slammed her critics in an emotional and fiery statement, and then Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham defended her by talking about how they have her back.

This was not something that just happened overnight. In fact, it started last season, when some fans claimed that the Indiana Fever head coach’s game design did not help the superstar point guard play to her best. That discourse then came to a boiling point when White seemingly defended DiJonai Carrington instead of admonishing her foul on Cunningham.

Amidst calls for her to be fired, the coach came out and torched her critics, where the 49-year-old made it clear that she had her players’ backs no matter what, and that the narrative creators can ‘go to hell.’

Then came Clark and Cunningham, who both defended their coach. The former mentioned that her coach was a human, too, and that she felt ‘sick’ listening to Fever fans booing her. However, Stephen A. Smith does not think these statements were enough to stop the rhetoric.

What a statement saying absolutely positively nothing. See, if this were the men, we would not only be asking; we would be demanding that folks speak up… What disgusts me… You have a whole bunch of things in your favor – to look into the camera and address it with the passion and the fervor it deserves. And y’all dancing.

Stephen A. Smith said on his namesake show

The ESPN analyst believes that Stephanie White, Sophie Cunningham, and Caitlin Clark should have directly called out those who were attacking them. That could have forced the trolls to stop this discourse. Instead, they were beating around the bush.

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Stephen A. Smith claims Stephanie White mishandled an already tense situation

After calling out Caitlin Clark for being ‘soft’ towards their trolls, Stephen A. Smith pivoted back to criticize Stephanie White for her statement and how she handled the entire DiJonai Carrington-Sophie Cunningham mess.

You think that’s going to work for you, Coach White?… You’re not handling it right. You’re playing right into their hands… Because you’re not embracing the reality of the tense situation that the WNBA, and especially as you as the coach of the Indiana Fever, are involved in. There are folks in Indiana, at a home game, booing you.

Smith said

The 58-year-old believes that White talking about how love, grace, and humility can win over this battle against the critics will not work in the current climate. He pointed out that the claws are out for the WNBA, with various factions using every incident they can to criticize the league.

This is a time when anyone associated with it needs to put up a strong and bold front. Therefore, by showing her emotions and leaning into such terms, the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year‘s words went on to prove just how vulnerable they are.

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Stephen A. Smith questions how Stephanie White

Once Stephen A. Smith made it clear that Stephanie White should have kept in mind the current climate surrounding the WNBA while calling out her critics, he then asked how the head coach could not see clearly how the hard foul on Sophie Cunningham transpired.

DiJonai Carrington fouling Sophie Cunningham
DiJonai Carrington fouling Sophie Cunningham (Image via P Ties/X)

How are you the head coach on the sideline, during the play, coaching the game, and you didn’t see the play?… Were you not watching?… It’s your job to coach the game, watch the game. How did you not see the play?

Smith asked

Smith is trying to suggest that, as a person who is that involved in the game, it was baffling to learn that she did not see the foul, or even check the jumbotron, as any coach or player tends to do.

Then, they get a clearer picture, with which they can modify their arguments. Smith is saying this because fan videos showed Stephanie White watching the hard foul happen in real time, and then she walked straight to DiJonai Carrington.

Neither did she look up at the jumbotron, nor did she check on Sophie Cunningham. Moreover, she did not even consult with her fellow coaches and Fever PR team before jumping into the press conference unprepared. That is what led to that entire discourse.

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