"You’re a lie": Shannon Sharpe lands in debate with WNBA community as his Caitlin Clark take goes viral 

This week, NFL legend turned TV personality Shannon Sharpe spoke about Caitlin Clark's rookie season in an episode of ESPN's First Take. As he explained, just because people praise Clark doesn't mean that former WNBA legends like Candace Parker or Lisa Leslie's accomplishments are minimized.

In response, one social media user on X alleged that Sharpe doesn't speak on the disrespect other players in the WNBA face, but only Clark.

Given that other players who are in the league currently, and were in the league before Clark faced, and continue to face, criticism, Sharpe's defense of Clark seems one-sided. In response, the pro football Hall of Famer took to X to defend himself:

"That’s your issue not mine. I have no issue with anything I’ve said in regards 2 WNBA and its players past or present."

When one fan pushed back, Sharpe then defended himself and his knowledge of the WNBA:

"I know enough current and former WNBA players 2 speak on the topic"

Things didn't stop there. Another user stepped up and alleged that Sharpe had his staff Google players' names to get information about them. The analyst hit back and asserted that he knows his subjects well.

"You're a lie. My knowledge on the subjects I discuss are unquestioned. Ask any of my former employers or tmmates."

One social media user stepped up to defend Shannon Sharpe by pointing out that he had several WNBA players on his show, and even wore Angel Reese's Reebok merchandise on his show. In response to this, the ESPN personality wrote:

"Facts ruin arguments"

Shannon Sharpe's co-host Andraya Carter pushes back on comments regarding coverage of Caitlin Clark

After Shannon Sharpe made his initial comments about Caitlin Clark this week, his First Take co-host Andraya Carter pushed back.

As she explained, Sharpe was one of the people who was pushing a narrative that the rest of the WNBA was against Caitlin Clark. As Carter explained, that isn't the case, and the narrative that the league was against Clark from the jump boils down to a select few players both past and present.

"Another level of noise was coming from people. You were one of them, who also tried to create a picture around Caitlin that the league was against her based on the actions of less than five former players or current players, which also creates a lot of noise."

Throughout Clark's rookie year, there has been quite a bit of talk among fans online, some of whom allege that the league isn't giving her a fair whistle. At the same time, there has been plenty of criticism aimed at WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes, who has been accused of being biased against Clark.

In addition, social media users took aim at the league recently when promotional photos of first-round matchups showed Aliyah Boston as the face of the Indiana Fever rather than Clark. Some fans felt that the latter should have been given the spotlight on the promotional graphic given the attention she's brought to Fever games.