Shannon “Unc” Sharpe, 56, found himself in the crosshairs of fans online over the WNBA. The “Club Shay Shay” host is being accused of showing favoritism to Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark over other players in the women’s basketball league.
A Sept. 23 segment from “First Take” talk show went viral after Sharpe, Stephen A. Smith, and Andraya Carter discussed the success of Clark.
Sharpe essentially claimed Clark should get most of the credit for the WNBA’s rise in popularity ahead of the 2024 season. He even slammed his co-workers at ESPN.
“A lot of this noise came by people that’s sitting on this network. They tried to minimize her, saying, ‘Well, you giving her all this credit, what about the women that came before her?’” Sharpe argued.
He continued, “The women [who] came before her, what they did, cannot be taken away. That ain’t got nothing to do with Caitlin Clark. But there are a lot of people that tried to make sure they keep Caitlin Clark in her place.”
Those remarks by Sharpe did not sit well with many people online. In particular, an X user called out the three-time Super Bowl champion for not doing more to acknowledge other WNBA stars besides Clark.
“My issue is [Shannon Sharpe] never speaks on the disrespect the rest of the women of the W experienced. Always defending Caitlin. The WNBA disrespect didn’t START with Caitlin, they’ve been disrespected for YEARS,” an X user contended.
The person added, “Caitlin’s buzz made that hate way worse and people who tried to have the other women’s backs got called ‘haters’ by people like [Shannon Sharpe and Stephen. A Smith] who wanted us to be thankful for ratings boosts.”
Sharpe began defending himself on X. In response to the backlash, he tweeted, “That’s your issue, not mine. I have no issue with anything I’ve said in regards to WNBA and its players past or present.”
Then the ex-NFL tight end started to make personal attacks against his critics.
“I’m sure you don’t,” said one person to which he replied, by tweeting, “Why are you on my page? Don’t you have another horse to rob of his hair? Stop trying to kill my vibe.”
Caitlin Clark’s caucasian race has also become a talking point. While she’s been marketed as the new face of the WNBA, a majority of the players are Black women.
Sharpe’s Blackness was called into question by multiple people as well. Another X user said, “You never beating the anti-Black allegations.”
The Pro Football Hall of Famer fired back, “I’ve never tried. Those that question me don’t support me anyway so why do I care what they think.”
In addition, his insult about horse hair generated outrage. Some X users took the remark as a dig directed at all Black women who wear hair extensions.
“’Horse hair’ is such a 90s ‘I don’t like Black women’ insult. Michelle’s race confirmed,” one comment read, referring to the name of the woman Sharpe called out during sex while “accidentally” going live on Instagram.
Sharpe’s Instagram account initially claimed the explicit audio on his Live was the result of a hacker, but he eventually admitted it was him having sexual relations with the moaning woman.
He faced more “anti-Black” accusations, including some who suggested he was “cooning out.”
“What’s even more anti-Black is the ish y’all say to Black people you don’t even know. I don’t go on people’s timeline and talk reckless but some of y’all do and when the response isn’t what you hoped for, you’re anti-Black, buck dancing. Get what you give,” he tweeted.
Sharpe also got called out for going back and forth with random strangers on social media. However, he said he enjoyd the toxic discourse playing out in front of the world. “I like going back and forth. When I get the best of them. They play victim,” the Glennville, Georgia, native responded.
But 10 minutes later the father of three’s hours-long tirade came to an end. “Sept. 25, 2024 at 6:06 pm. I will no longer respond 2 any negativity. It’s not the serious 4 me. I’ve got kids and I would upset with them IF they responded in this manner. This is beneath me. Y’all pray 4 me tho.”
Meanwhile, Sharpe’s “Night Cap” podcast partner, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, was pulled into the digital melee after a fan threatened to “unsubscribe” from his content for supposedly “completely disrespecting Black Women” like Sharpe.
Chad went on the attack. The six-time NFL Pro Bowler tweeted, “N—, f—k you and your subscription, I ain’t Unc. I don’t give two f—s what you do p—y, direct your anger to the right place and person.”
When one of his followers suggested avoiding the negative tweets, Ochocinco replied, “We must engage in positivity & negativity to keep a healthy balance in life. 363 days of LOVE & two days of WAR is feasible.”
Clark’s rise to basketball superstardom began during her collegiate years, when led the nation in scoring in three of her four seasons and broke the NCAA Division I career scoring record. As a player for the Iowa Hawkeyes, her rivalry with Louisiana State University standout Angel Reese in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Tournament championship game captivated the nation.
The rivalry became headline news, partially because of the racial component with Clark being white and Reese being Black. The two women continued their friendly competition as part of the WNBA’s 2024 rookie class.
Clark was the first person picked in the 2024 WNBA draft when the Indiana Fever selected her at No. 1. The Chicago Sky drafted Angel Reese at No. 7.
There was a closely watched 2024 Associated Press WNBA Rookie of the Year race between Clark and Reese. On Sept. 22, the AP announced Clark unanimously won the honor.
