Diana Taurasi: “Reality is coming. There's levels to this thing and that's just life; we all went through it. You see it on the NBA side and you're going to see it on this side, where you look super-human playing against 18-year-olds but you're going to come with some grown women that been playing professional basketball for a long time. Not saying that it's not going to translate because when you're great at what you do, you're just going to get better, but there is going to be a transition period where you're going to have to give yourself some grace as a rookie. It might take a little bit longer for some people.”
Chris Broussard: “I don’t watch much WNBA so maybe I’m wrong, but I think Caitlin Clark is going to step into the WNBA and go BERSERK. I think she’s going to put up BIG numbers in the WNBA just like she does in women’s college basketball. I think she’s going to GET BUSY in the WNBA."
Rob Parker: “Shame on them [Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird] to talk down on her about what to expect in the WNBA. That’s not the moment for that. She’s still in college, she [Diana Taurasi] shouldn’t be talking about ‘what is in store’ when this woman has just had a major impact on women’s college basketball. They sound like ‘Debbie Downers’, they sound jealous. I have no idea why that’s the topic of conversation now. She hasn’t been drafted and she’s not playing in the WNBA yet. My God, really? Is that the moment to talk about ‘WELL, WAIT TILL SHE GETS TO THE WNBA!’... It’s NOT the right place. You guys [Taurasi and Bird] did so well that y'all averaged 6,000 fans 28 years later [after the WNBA began in 1996] and you got no TV ratings. C’mon, stop it.”
Broussard: “There’s been a lot of hate for Caitlin Clark out there coming from women. It’s straight jealously. Is she better than Diana Taurasi? I don’t know, I’m not an expert on the women’s game, but it’s her style of play. I’ve mentioned there might be a racial element, probably a little – that's in most parts of American society – but Taurasi is White, Sue Bird is White, Breanna Stewart is White, and they didn’t get this kind of attention. It’s her style and the way she plays, the logo threes and the handle.”
Parker: “You know why men are attracted to her game? The logo threes, the handle, the assists, and all we hear from are these women who are accomplished. Nobody is taking away your championships. They’re jealous! It doesn’t make any sense. Caitlin drew 18.9 million yesterday; Taurasi’s three National Championship game drew 15.5 million COMBINED. The Las Vegas Aces, who had the highest attendance in the WNBA – 9,500 per game – the average in the league is 6,000. The Aces already moved their first game against Caitlin Clark to the T-Mobile Arena, not where they usually play – you know why? -- So they could sell 20,000 tickets. Why are they bashing here? That could mean more money for ALL of them.”
Broussard: “We’ve interviewed women on our show and other shows, and just watching the coverage, it’s interesting because a lot of times when the interviewer has brought up Caitlin Clark, you see the female in the interview – they quickly comment about her and then go to ‘BUT THERE’S SO MANY OTHER GREAT PLAYERS OUT THERE, YOU GOT JUJU WATKINS DOING THIS...’, and it’s like that’s where the jealousy comes out. We get it, there are other players out there, but she is the one who is taking your game to a different level.”
Parker: “We’re not talking about ‘everybody’, like why do we have to do that? This is a moment. We understand there’s other great players. When Juju is in the National Championship Game and the TV ratings are 18 [million] then we’ll talk about Juju. Like what part don’t you get?”
Broussard: "It’s just jealousy. It’s like ‘crabs in a barrel’ mentality, why y’all hatin’?”
Watch Rob Parker and Chris Broussard discuss the polarizing media coverage around women’s college basketball star Caitlin Clark, as Parker calls out WNBA legend Diana Taurasi for bizarrely using ESPN’s coverage of the Iowa vs. South Carolina National Championship game to undermine Clark’s future in the WNBA.
Parker says Taurasi is simply ‘jealous’, saying Clark’s TV audience of 18.9 million viewers was more than Taurasi’s three National Championship games at UConn combined. Parker says that Taurasi’s opinion of Clark’s WNBA future was completely irrelevant to the ongoing coverage of the women’s National Championship, saying ‘that’s not the moment’ to try to tear down the sport’s biggest star with a hot WNBA take while she’s still playing in college.
Check out the segment above as both Parker and Broussard blast Clark’s most vocal critics, saying women’s basketball analysts are always quick to mention that there’s ‘other’ great players in the women’s game as well, and seem irritated and dismissive whenever a pro-Caitlin Clark topic is being discussed.
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