Stephen A. Smith rips into NBA players' apathy while praising WNBA stars after Caitlin Clark snubs NBA All-Star weekend

This week, Caitlin Clark reportedly shot down an opportunity to take part in the NBA's All-Star Weekend festivities. With the league's All-Star Weekend set to take place in San Francisco, there was speculation that the Indiana Fever star could face off with Steph Curry or Klay Thompson in a 3-point contest similar to the one Curry and Sabrina Ionescu competed in last year.

Clark is instead focused on participating in the WNBA's All-Star weekend in Indianapolis this year, not All-Star Weekend in San Francisco. In response to the situation, Stephen A. Smith shared his thoughts on Thursday's episode of First Take.

The way he sees things, considering players have little interest in playing hard during All-Star Weekend, it's refreshing to see WNBA players eager to showcase their talent during All-Star Weekend.

"Why is the WNBA so appreciated? ... the biggest reason is: Y'all freaking care! You can't look at an audience & give them the proverbial middle finger. That's what the NBA players have done to All-Star Weekend. ... It's a travesty," Smith said.

Smith's comments come amid widespread criticism of All-Star Weekend and the lack of effort players have given in recent years.

Looking at the NBA's efforts to get players to compete harder during the All-Star Game last year

After several years of players giving minimal effort during the All-Star Game, the league attempted to inspire players to give their best effort last year.

Before tip-off, Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, who was invited to All-Star weekend along with fellow Hall of Famer Julius Erving, spoke with players in the locker room.

After Adam Silver told media members that the general sentiment of viewers surrounding All-Star Weekend wasn't a positive one, Bird urged players to play hard during the league's Legends Brunch the morning of last year's All-Star Game.

"The one thing I would really like to see is they play hard tonight in this All-Star Game. I think it's very important when you have the best players in the world together; you've gotta compete, and you've gotta play hard, and you've gotta show the fans how good they really are," Bird said.

The message seemingly didn't get across to players, however, this year, the league is hoping a new format will stoke the competitive flames of All-Star Weekend.

With a new four-team tournament format, All-Stars will compete against hungry young standouts from the winner of the Rising Stars championship game, which will feature freshmen, sophomores and G League players.

Whether that gets players to give the level of effort Stephen A. Smith wants to see, only time will tell.