For some reason, conservatives continue to insist that Black people are racist even though it’s not true. The latest target for their outrage: legendary athlete Sheryl Swoopes. Earlier this month, Swoopes questioned Iowa guard Caitlin Clark and her ability to break the Division I career scoring recording that was previously held by Kelsey Plum.
During an interview on the “Gil’s Arena” show, Swoopes mistakenly said that Clark was a fifth-year player (which she later acknowledged) and takes “about 40 shots a game.” Swoopes criticism spurred outrage on social media, leading to a few Iowa fans sitting courtside wearing shirts that said: “Don’t Be A Sheryl.”
In addition, people also dubbed Swoopes as being racist against white people, although marginalized and oppressed groups don’t have the power to be.
She reappeared back on Arena’s podcast this week and talked about the ridiculous allegations. “For people to come at me and say that I made those comments [about Clark] because I’m a racist … First of all, Black people can’t be racist; but that’s the farthest thing from my mind.”
Swoopes continued to explain herself, although she really didn’t need to. “I grew up in a very small West Texas town — predominantly white. My best childhood friend is white. Went to a predominantly white college. Won a national championship [and] pretty much everyone on the team was white. We’re sisters to this day. That’s not a part of my DNA.”
Perhaps the most baffling part of the attack on Swoopes is the fact that she didn’t do anything wrong—she merely critiqued a young basketball player based on her own well-known expertise. She may have been proven wrong, but Swoopes’ words had absolutely nothing to do with race.
Conservatives, stay mad.