ESPN Taking Heat For Comparing Caitlin Clark To Serena Williams, Simone Biles
09/26/2024 02:40 PM
As Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark grows in popularity, some outlets seem to be running out of superlatives to describe her career. But ESPN may have taken things a little too far by comparing her to several of the greatest women in sports ever - including Serena Williams and Simone Biles.
On the latest episode of First Take, a graphic was shown highlighting "Trailblazing Athletes" and listed off Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and finally Caitlin Clark. As you might expect, the "Career Accomplishments" listed made Clark the outlier in that group by a wide margin.
Putting Clark on that list is also a bit unfair since Clark plays in a team sport while the other three women on the list all play individual sports.
As a result, fans have been putting a lot of heat on ESPN for having the gall to put Clark on a list like this:
"I feel like we've lost the plot a bit here," a user who took a screenshot of the graphic noted.
I feel like we've lost the plot a bit here. pic.twitter.com/SWfmVPTMDg
— Ghost Mike Toscano (@mtosc98) September 26, 2024
"She doesn't have a single title or gold medal to her name, yet somehow she mirrors their success and attitude perfectly. Honestly, you just can't make this stuff up," someone replied.
"Why didn't they put Díana Taurasi or even A'ja😭😭 she's never won anything like did the person making this list not feel crazy when they added her name and accomplishments," wrote another.
"Also for ESPN to compare her to serena Williams, Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky is insulting to those three champions. They won championships, medals and what has Caitlin won? Nothing!!! The absolute nerve," a third wrote.
We can all agree that Clark is a trailblazer from the standpoint of bringing the WNBA more popularity and mainstream attention than it ever received before.
But it's high time we pump the brakes on comparisons to any of the all-time greats while she's still trying to win her first title.
Related: 4-Time NCAA Champion Says Caitlin Clark Needs Title To Be 'One Of The Greats'
