Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrated a Final Four berth on Monday night. While the conversation mostly felt celebratory, Monday morning turned over, and things got awkward.
NBA legend Paul Pierce joined Undisputed on Fox Sports 1 on Monday. The former Celtics great claimed he was surprised by Clark’s prodigious performance against the LSU Tigers. It wasn’t so much how Clark played, but who she played.
“We saw a white girl in Iowa do it to a bunch of Black girls… that gained my respect,” Pierce said on the show to his cohosts Skip Bayless and Keyshawn Johnson. Pierce continued, saying, “That gained my respect! That’s like, oh she didn’t do this to some other little white girls that were over in Colorado or wherever. She did it to some girls from LSU who we thought were some dogs!”
"We saw a white girl in Iowa do it to a bunch of Black girls. That gained my respect…I didn't expect that." – Paul Pierce pic.twitter.com/StyugFiG67
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 2, 2024
Pierce’s comments didn’t go over well with many observers who found them. It’s true that what Clark did Monday night to LSU was prolific and absurd. But Clark is… also prolific and absurd on the basketball court on a regular basis against most teams.
She’s the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. She makes the extraordinary ordinary, so Pierce’s comments don’t make a lot of sense when you consider who she is and how good she is.
Several others who found the comments weren’t thrilled about them and also felt that the former Celtic missed the mark entirely.
Who is asking for Skip x Keyshawn x Paul Pierce???? https://t.co/c7KbEbPiaV
— Edwardian. (@DepressedDETN) April 2, 2024
No way this is the take away from the Iowa vs LSU game last night… just end the show. https://t.co/RW4RjMEIJj
— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) April 2, 2024
truly one of the dumbest things i’ve ever heard https://t.co/cANaGN4A6K
— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) April 2, 2024
Paul Pierce doesn’t watch much basketball. https://t.co/K8efnntWoZ
— The Anonymous Nobody (@el_budget) April 2, 2024
Paul Pierce does not deserve to have a paid commentator/analyst role, anywhere, in any capacity, after saying this.
Disqualifying. https://t.co/KcvJw1VCXu
— Matt Zemek (@MattZemek) April 2, 2024
Please and I’m asking politely now PLEASE cancel dumb shows like this
Absolutely no way this should be the takeaway from last night’s incredible game and it’s disrespectful to women’s basketball https://t.co/S7txKp8kYK
— Sean Davis (@Sean_Davi) April 2, 2024
reducing what we saw last night to this is disrespectful and doing a disservice to caitlin and everyone else that played https://t.co/W00p51kbSl
— dominique☼ (@saokodomi) April 2, 2024
