Stephen A. Smith lambasts 'political ping pong' in WNBA amid Cailtin Clark drama

Matthew NeschisSat, July 18, 2026 at 5:12 PM UTC

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Stephen A. Smith slammed the 'political ping pong' playing out in the WNBA -Credit:Getty Images

Stephen A. Smith slammed the “political ping pong” playing out in the WNBA as Caitlin Clark remains at the center of an ongoing debate over race, player treatment and league accountability.

Shortly after NBA commissioner Adam Silver suggested that Clark had become a “political football” in the United States, Smith echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that the star guard has been caught up in similar debates since entering the WNBA.

“The commissioner is absolutely right: it's political ping pong,” Smith said during a live taping of ESPN's First Take at Fanatics Fest. “But here's where I put some culpability on the shoulders of the players. It's about time you know that.

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“As players, you got to see the forest through the trees. Nobody is saying it's right. Nobody is saying it's right for people to use the Caitlin Clark's presence… as political ping pong. But damn it, they use everything they can as political ping pong in today's generation.”

In recent weeks, the heated discourse surrounding Clark has reached a fever pitch following her run-in with Alyssa Thomas, prompting the Republican Study Committee (RSC) to issue WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert a letter demanding action.

During the Fever's 111-109 defeat to the Mercury last month, Clark fell to the floor while driving toward the basket with roughly seven minutes remaining in the second quarter. As she tried to pass from the ground, Thomas dove for the loose ball, striking the guard's neck area with her fist.

Though officials initially determined no foul had taken place on the play, WNBA authorities subsequently issued Thomas a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty the next day, accompanied by a one-game suspension and $1,000 fine for "recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area of Caitlin Clark."

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Caitlin Clark has been at the center of several divisive plays that have sparked backlash online -Credit:Getty Images

Most recently, Clark collapsed to the hardwood again during the Fever's 109-75 victory over the Aces last Sunday. As Las Vegas’ Chelsea Gray worked to establish position while posting up in the paint, her elbow seemed to make contact with Clark's midsection.

After officials blew the whistle, Clark collapsed to the floor in pain before turning onto her back. While referees originally called the 24-year-old for a defensive foul, the play underwent additional review to determine if Gray had committed a hostile act. The Aces veteran was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing and awarded two free throw attempts.

Following both incidents, Thomas and Gray revealed that they were the subject of online hate, racist attacks and death threats. Smith encouraged the pair of players to stay out of the limelight and off social media, where anything they say can be twisted to support either side of the aisle.

“You've got literally stuff going on in our politics right now where every little thing you say and do is utilized to give somebody an advantage over another,” he said. “Why? Because we're in a binary system, and when it's time to go to the polls, you can only go one or two ways. They know that.

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“So you have a Caitlin Clark, and it's this white girl that can really, really ball, that's box office… and goes out there and galvanizes an audience in a way that she's generating ratings that nobody else generates, even though the league is rife with phenomenal players, phenomenal talent that spent years building up the league.

“She's the cash cow. What was I saying over the last year and a half? Yo, a rising tide lifts all boats. Ride that wave.

“But in the same breath, make sure to ingratiate yourself along the way, so you're not viewed as quote unquote the enemy or viewing her as the enemy, because there's a contingent out there that's going to look at her just because of her ethnicity and being in the WNBA, and they're going to say, ‘Oh, she's being victimized. Why is she being targeted?’

“And that's where the political ping pong comes from, because all of a sudden, in the climate that we're living in, they're going to say this is what it is to cause the divide.”

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Source: “AOL Sports”