Stephen A. Smith Sends 2-Word Plea to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese After Flagrant Foul

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith had a strong suggestion to Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese after Clark’s viral flagrant foul on Reese this past weekend

Oct 23, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Stephen A. Smith (Stephen Smith) on the ESPN NBA Countdown live set at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Oct 23, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Stephen A. Smith (Stephen Smith) on the ESPN NBA Countdown live set at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The women’s basketball community is still buzzing about what went down in the third quarter of the Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever WNBA game on May 17, when Caitlin Clark was called for a flagrant foul for a take-foul turned shove to her longtime rival, Angel Reese.

Of course, Reese and Clark’s storied rivalry goes back to the 2023 NCAA championship game, when Reese taunted Clark by pointing to her ring finger right in front of Clark moments before her LSU Tigers defeated Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes.

There have been several other moments between them before Saturday, but the most distinct came when Reese got up from that shove and tried to get in Clark’s face before she was pushed away by Fever player Aliyah Boston.

As soon as this incident occurred, it became clear that it would be discussed by sports pundits. And Stephen A. Smith sent a strong message about the moment during a May 19 episode of ESPN First Take.

“I have never deemed that to be a bad thing,” Smith said of what Reese did to Clark in the 2023 NCAA championship game, per an X post from VideoMixtape.com. “I love that kind of confrontation, I love that kind of heat.”

Smith later added, “What I would say to all of y’all is this: As a person that has covered the NBA, and grew up watching the NBA… the bottom line is the [Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird] rivalry contributed to the [NBA’s] popularity.

“So Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark: Embrace this! It’s okay! Because all y’all doing is competing,” he concluded of the flagrant foul and its ensuing reaction.

Smith urging Clark and Reese to “embrace this” rivalry speaks volumes, especially because, as long as it stays confined to the basketball court, what Reese and Clark have brewing is only going to grow the game.