Stephen A. Smith goes on Caitlin Clark WNBA race rant over Indiana Fever star's success: 'There's a broader issue here that can't be escaped'

Stephen A. Smith went on a Caitlin Clark-driven WNBA race rant this week, bringing up what he believes her rise has exposed about society, while name-dropping Martin Luther King and Donald Trump. 

Smith spoke up about Clark in this instance after Connecticut Sun star DiJonai Carrington had taken issue with Clark's lack of a brash statement to disassociate herself from those using her name to weaponize the spread racism and misogyny. 

Clark did push back directly when asked about those claims, but Smith thought the exchange had a larger meaning. 

The Indiana Fever star being at the forefront of women's basketball during her WNBA rookie season as led to a spotlight unprecedented for the sport and league. 

On Sunday, Clark rival Angel Reese said she gets a 'special whistle' after a difference in calls from officials against her team compared to the Fever. 

'There's a broader issue here that can't be escaped,' Smtih said. 'And that is that's she is a white young lady and she's been a magnet in way, that has benefitted the league in ways that others have not, even though their efforts have been worthy and deserving of being as celebrated, if not even more celebrated.'

Then Smith brought up the former American President. 

'You have somebody that's a presidential candidate. What is his claim to fame? "Make America Great Again"', Smith said referencing Trump. 'What have people interpreted that to mean? "Make America White Again"'. 

'What has that led to? A divide,' Smith continued. 'It is not a divide that is created. It is a divide that is illuminated because it's highlighting and showing that it's been in existence all along. It hasn't gone anywhere.'

Smith's entire soliloquy on Clark nearly lasted five minutes, although he said he thinks Clark is 'box office' and will be a wonderful player in the WNBA. 

The ESPN personality is not the first to question whether Clark's popularity is primarily because of her race, with Charlamagne tha God recently doing the same. 

'Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others were trying to make things happen in the '50s, in the '60s, Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus, everybody knows that was something that was orchestrated because a bigger issued needed to be addressed,' Smith said about race relations. 

'And they had to find the right person to address it. And throughout history, we've seen a plethora of things transpire and take place where an individual had the light shined on them and it was orchestrated and plotted and planned because a bigger message and a bigger issue needed to be addressed,' Smith continued. 

'But the right person needed to come a long to give us the license to address it, and it might not have been through their own volition and it happens,' Smith added. 

Smith's rant has been met with mixed reviews, including from conservative commentator Clay Travis. 

'Caitlin Clark has broken ESPN. They have no idea how to address black lesbian women hating her because she’s white and straight because it shatters identity politics so you get word salads like this,' Travis said on X. 

Clark has been involved in two major controversies this season, both against the Chicago Sky. 

First, Clark was brutally body-checked by Chennedy Carter with her hip on an in-bounds play that was clearly not in line with a typically basketball play. 

The bodycheck, and Carter's stated lack of regret for it, ignited several days of social media controversy that divided fans and led to accusations of racism from both sides.  

Then on Sunday, constant Clark-rival Reese committed a flagrant foul where the former Iowa star got smacked in the head, sending her to the court in pain. 

Those incidents have led some to believe Clark is being targeted for harsh play by opponents.