Sue Bird, the WNBA legend, is in the hot seat, and fans are lighting up the metaphorical scoreboard. Known for her sharp insights on the game, Bird has found herself the subject of some not-so-friendly fire over her seemingly split opinions on Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever sensation who has taken women’s basketball by storm.
In one corner of the ring, Bird heaps praise on Clark during her podcast, “A Touch More,” co-hosted with Megan Rapinoe. In the other, some fans claim she downplays Clark’s impact when the audience grows larger. And let’s just say, the basketball faithful on X (formerly Twitter) aren’t exactly giving her a standing ovation for this perceived double-dribble.
The Fans’ Verdict: “She Plays Both Sides”
It started with a viral tweet accusing Bird of singing different tunes depending on her platform. The tweet, which garnered over 21,000 views and a tidal wave of reactions, said:
“Sue B*rd only gives her so-called daughter flowers on her podcast with her wife, but whenever she goes on big TV shows, she’ll say the WNBA was already growing big, and 22 just happened to tip the cup over. She plays both sides.”
The “22” refers to Caitlin Clark’s jersey number, and for some fans, it’s also the number of times Bird allegedly flip-flops between support and shade.
But it didn’t end there. Fans brought receipts, adding context about how the WNBA, like many sports leagues, struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic and only regained pre-pandemic prominence with Clark’s entrance into the league.
“Everything was ‘growing’ in terms of being compared to 2020 COVID baseline numbers,” one user tweeted, serving a stat-laden dagger.
Others didn’t hold back their disdain for Bird’s alleged duplicity, with comments like:
“I never liked Sue Bird. She just uses Clark’s name on the podcast for clicks.”
And then came the conspiracy theorists (because, of course):
“Yea, at the end of the day, people like Bird fall back to their default programming. Bird is part of the UConn Mafia. You can never leave that family. Wouldn’t be surprised if she got flack by other fellow alum as to how bad praising Clark is. Bird got back w/the program.”
For those unfamiliar, “UConn Mafia” is the not-so-secret society of University of Connecticut basketball alums who—if you believe Twitter—run women’s basketball like it’s an episode of The Sopranos.
Bird’s Podcast Praise: “Caitlin Clark, The Catalyst”
Despite the social media dunking, Bird’s podcast comments suggest she’s no Clark hater. On the Dec. 11 episode of “A Touch More,” Bird lauded Clark’s off-court influence, highlighting her power to attract big-brand sponsorships and investments into the WNBA.
“For a league to be successful…have longevity, and now to see for a player in a league to be able to garner money off the court. In this way, some of it is just because it’s Caitlin Clark,” Bird said. “Like you can’t remove that from the equation. She’s also a little bit of a catalyst because now that you’re seeing brands invest in her, they know that she’s going to be seen in the WNBA. And so those brands are now also going to invest in the WNBA.”
Bird also noted Clark’s success would eventually trickle down to benefit other players in the league. It was a moment of high praise—but one that fans apparently felt didn’t translate to her TV appearances.
So, What’s the Real Play Here?
Is Sue Bird genuinely trying to uplift Caitlin Clark, or is she running a complex PR pick-and-roll to appease both the old guard of the WNBA and the new wave of Clark stans? Fans remain divided, and social media is running full-court press on the situation.
But if nothing else, Bird has succeeded in keeping her name—along with Clark’s—firmly in the headlines. Whether that’s savvy marketing or a genuine misstep, well, we’ll leave that debate to the fans in the bleachers.
For now, it seems Bird has added another nickname to her Hall of Fame resume: Sue “Queen of Both Sides” Bird.
What’s next? A heated game of podcast vs. primetime? Only time (and Twitter) will tell.
