Kendrick Perkins calls out LeBron James and 4 others over claims of WNBA players 'hating' on Caitlin Clark: "You have to be careful"

Kendrick Perkins warned five sports personalities, including LeBron James, about calling out WNBA players for "hating" on Caitlin Clark. Perkins explained that they need to be careful about what they are saying about women's basketball, especially about what's happening to Clark recently.

In a recent episode of "NBA Today" on ESPN, Perkins called out James, Charles Barkley, Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe for claiming that WNBA players are jealous of the Indiana Fever star. He also advised Pat McAfee to apologize for his comments on the matter yesterday.

"I'm looking at guys like Charles Barkley, LeBron James, Stephen A., Shannon Sharpe. Why do I point out those four guys? You have to be careful about the words you put out there. The word hating, the word jealous, those words are triggering words for women in anything. I've been married to one," Perkins said.

He added:

"Those two words, especially when you're talking about referring to other women, those are triggering words. You have to do a better job with that. It's not hating and it's not jealousy, it's competition. Pat McAfee, I think he owes everyone an apology, especially Caitlin Clark. You cannot call her out of her name like that."

LeBron James, Charles Barkley, Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and Pat McAfee were some of several media personalities who thought that some WNBA players were jealous of Caitlin Clark. This year's first overall pick was already being picked on by several WNBA players before the season started.

Clark got first-hand experience of the physicality in her first few games of the season and was even frustrated with non-calls from officials. Things escalated even more when Chennedy Carter hip-checked Clark on Saturday and was only called a common foul.

The WNBA then upgraded it to a flagrant foul but neither suspended nor fined Carter for her actions. It has since been a debate in the basketball world if some players are jealous and hating on Clark for bringing a lot of eyes to the league or just plain competitive nature of athletes.

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Pat McAfee issues apology to Caitlin Clark

Pat McAfee issues an apology to Caitlin Clark.

Pat McAfee made some controversial comments about Caitlin Clark on his ESPN show yesterday. McAfee called Clark a "white b*tch" as he sang praise for the Indiana Fever superstar. However, it was heavily criticized by people online and McAfee issued an apology to Clark on his official X account.

"My intentions when saying it were complimentary just like the entire segment but, a lot of folks are saying that it certainly wasn't at all. That's 100% on me and for that I apologize… I have sent an apology to Caitlin as well," McAfee wrote.