Three-time WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes has repeatedly questioned Caitlin Clark’s role in the Indiana Fever. From suggesting locker room trouble due to Clark’s following to now criticizing the franchise’s handling of Kelsey Mitchell, Swoopes has remained vocal. However, her comments are now backfiring, as fans are calling her out for pushing a false narrative.
It all started with Swoopes’ appearance on No Chill with Gilbert Arenas. She argued that the Fever failed to give Mitchell the credit she deserved for her outstanding 2024 season. “Personally, here’s where I think [the Fever] didn’t do a very good job, and that was with Kelsey Mitchell, who’s an unrestricted free agent,” Swoopes shared. “Because Kelsey Mitchell had a hell of a season this season, and I don’t think that she got the credit that she deserved.”
This wasn’t the first time Swoopes had taken aim at the Fever’s locker room. During the 2024 season, she appeared on Gil’s Arena and claimed that some players weren’t happy being part of the team. “There’s a lot of other st going on, that other [Fever] players are like, ‘This ain’t where I want to be,’” she alleged. However, she failed to provide any names or concrete evidence.
But everything she said ultimately fell flat, as Mitchell re-signed with the Fever, inking a massive $249,244 one-year deal. In reality, the decision had been settled long before Swoopes’ speculation. Despite her claims, the Fever had no intentions of letting Mitchell walk.
she’s back
we have re-signed Kelsey Mitchell.
: https://t.co/ZcohWC0SYQ pic.twitter.com/ijmGfaZa1K
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) January 29, 2025
Fever president Kelly Krauskopf made it clear that keeping Mitchell was a top priority. “Her core values, her core basketball—everything about her is what we’re about. And so there was no way she was going anywhere else but the Indiana Fever,” Krauskopf stated in a video posted on X.
Even Mitchell, who has spent her entire seven-year WNBA career in Indiana, embraced the decision wholeheartedly. She snuck in a little praise and credit for the 2024 ROTY too. “Indiana has been my second home since I went pro, so this is the only city I know,” Mitchell said. “To see you guys open your arms up to me … that was a big part of me coming back. Then I met one of the greatest people in the world, Caitlin Clark, who just ran the basketball world. I think, together, we hope to make you guys proud.”
Now that the decision has been made, Swoopes finds herself at the center of controversy once again.
Fans fire back at Sheryl Swoopes after Kelsey Mitchell stays with Indiana Fever
Now, with Kelsey Mitchell choosing to stay in Indiana, fans are calling out Sheryl Swoopes for pushing what they believe was a false narrative about the Fever’s locker room. One user on X mocked, “Sheryl Swoopes told us Indiana was a toxic place! Just a pure hater.”
Mitchell has previously spoken about the gruelling impact of all the attention the team suddenly came under. She admits the ‘microscope got smaller and smaller,’ leaving them hardly any room to breathe. But what got her through? Her teammates. She reveals they stuck together so close, ‘none of the chaos outside seeped into the locker room’. So while the newness had its downside, Mitchell isn’t blaming it on their rookie. It doesn’t sit right with fans that Swoopes stirred something there mightn’t have been.
“Nailed it again, Sheryl Swoopes. LMAO,” one wrote sarcastically.
The veteran guard has always had her praises up for the 2024 ROTY. But it has also included respect and care more often. “I hope we did a good job of being there for you, too, C ,” she had written on Players Tribune, expressing her respects for carrying herself the way she did. Now the bond clearly solidified with the new contract, Indiana seems to be proving its doubters wrong. Swoopes one among them, per fans.
“Somebody go tell Sheryl Swoopes’ miserable ass. So I can see her crash out ” another quipped.
The former Houston Commets’ star’s repeated remarks on Kelsey and Fever, have fans believed she wanted the star guard out. Come the Fever’s announcement, it has only added to fans’ fury.
“Sheryl Swoopes wanted her off that team so bad I just need to know why. Gil keeps those episodes up, and she was really selling a team could offer better than the Fever to Kelsey. The campfire stories being told on Gil’s Arena about that Fever locker room will not be forgotten.”
Sep 15, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) rushes up the court against Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally (0) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
No doubt, both Clark and Mitchell were one of the league’s most dynamic backcourts last season. Both averaging nearly 19.2 points per game, continue to build towards contention.
Given that success, Swoopes’ remarks about the Fever’s locker room weren’t well received by many fans. The criticisms also reached a point of the former W star being mimicked through memes. A spectator posted a Wired GIF, captioning it, “Sheryl Swoopes somewhere seeing that push notification on her phone.”
The Fever, coming off a playoff appearance, are on the rise and fans are making it clear they never bought into Swoopes’ claims. So all the noise aside, Mitchell is ready to make it a championship season alongside the 2024 ROTY.
The post Sheryl Swoopes in Deep Water of Criticism as Indiana Community Rejoice Caitlin Clark’s Alliance With $249K Fever Star appeared first on EssentiallySports.