On Sunday, women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller had some strong words for Caitlin Clark after her heated exchange with head coach Stephanie White on the sideline. Now, she seems to have changed her tune and walked back some of her words.
Miller’s criticism came at halftime during NBC’s coverage of the Valkyries’ game vs. the Las Vegas Aces when she and WNBA legend Sue Bird offered their opinions on the heated incident between Clark and White. While Bird seemed to stand by what she said, Miller appeared to have a bit of a change of heart.
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During Sunday’s broadcast, Miller and Bird discussed the incident and criticized Clark for letting her emotions get the better of her during Saturday night’s blowout loss. Miller called out Clark for what she felt was a “disruptive” incident on the sideline.
“Right now, it’s frustration. And unfortunately, it’s boiling over, and it’s being seen,” Miller said. “It’s one thing to have it behind closed doors, but when it spills over, and when the coach has to basically say, ‘Hey, you know what, Caitlin? Enough is enough. This is too disruptive. In and out. Take a seat.’”
“I’ve had moments like that with coaches,” Bird added. “I think it speaks to relationships. Player-coach relationships. Like, shoutout Brian Agler. You could say anything to that man. And you could keep it moving. And then I had other coaches, where maybe you couldn’t. And you have to learn each other in that way.”
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“But you knew the line,” Miller responded to Bird. “You knew the line. When it becomes disruptive… Even Kelsey Mitchell kind of chimed in, like, ‘You need to go stand over here and let us regain the calm in our huddle.’ When it becomes that disruptive for the entire team, somebody has to step in.’”
While Miller was quite critical of Clark on Sunday, she changed her tune significantly during Tuesday’s WNBA Showtime broadcast on Peacock. Miller admitted that she agreed with Clark when she said that the media often blows situations like this out of proportion when it comes to the coverage of her.
“I agree with Caitlin when she said this happens more often than not,” Miller said. “I agree with her on that.”
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She was also willing to admit that she might have gone too far in her criticism of Clark, adding that she was going to “give her some grace.”
“I’ve got to say one thing about Caitlin, and I sometimes I have to remember that she is young,” Miller said via Awful Announcing. “And the amount of pressure that is on this young lady, and she’s coming back from her injuries, and living up to what everybody expects her to be and do and whatnot, can be a little bit overwhelming. So I’m gonna give her some grace.
“I know I’ve been in situations like that before. It’s never played out publicly like this was, but I can understand where she’s coming from a little bit.”
This is some strong self-reflection from Miller to re-evaluate her position and arrive at a different conclusion.
The post Women’s basketball legend changes her mind on Caitlin Clark appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.
