Former ESPN analyst Ryan Clark took a shot at a WNBA player he wouldn't even name, and Sophie Cunningham responded where it counts, on the court, with one of the best shooting nights of the season.
Clark, who was laid off from ESPN roughly a month ago along with Cam Newton, Karl Ravech, and dozens of other employees, used his "Pivot" podcast this week to take aim at a player he refused to identify by name. The target was unmistakable. Clark complained about players "who don't even average 10 points a game" commanding media attention for topics outside basketball, a clear reference to Cunningham, the Indiana Fever guard who has drawn national attention for her public stance on protecting women's sports.
On Tuesday, Clark posted on Twitter: "Divisive gossip from a 9-point scorer gets more attention than the league's best teams and players." He pushed a clip of his podcast alongside the post. On the podcast itself, he expanded his complaint, as OutKick reported:
"We're seeing players who don't even average 10 points a game, and that's who's on your networks and TVs, answering questions and starting back and forths about things that aren't basketball."
Clark added that the league should focus on "pushing the right things" and "making sure the right things are at the forefront of people's mind." He never said Cunningham's name. He didn't have to.
If Clark wanted to dismiss Cunningham as irrelevant, the timing could not have been worse. On August 11, the Fever guard dropped 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, all three-pointers, in just 22 minutes against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Her plus-minus of +17 was the highest of any player on the court that night.
Cunningham currently ranks second in the entire WNBA in three-point percentage at 45.5 percent. That is not a stat line belonging to someone who has nothing to offer the league beyond "divisive gossip."
The Fever won the game behind a balanced attack. Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers with 28 points. Caitlin Clark added 22. Cunningham, coming off the bench, provided the kind of efficient, high-impact shooting that changes outcomes.
Clark's decision to single out Cunningham, without the courage to use her name, lands differently when you consider his own recent trajectory. ESPN cut him during a live taping of NFL Live as part of a sweeping round of layoffs. OutKick reported that it had told ESPN it knew Clark was among the oncoming layoffs before the announcement was made public.
After his exit, Clark appeared on the "Pivot" podcast in tears, alleging that ESPN had not allowed him to be "too black." That accusation drew its own wave of attention, the kind that had nothing to do with football analysis. Clark, in other words, built his post-ESPN brand on exactly the sort of off-field controversy he now criticizes Cunningham for generating.
The difference is straightforward. Cunningham spoke publicly about protecting little girls in locker rooms. She took a position on an issue that millions of parents and fans care about. Clark's complaint is that she drew attention for it, but his real objection appears to be what she said, not how much airtime she received.
Cunningham's public profile did not materialize from nowhere. Last summer, she went viral for physically stepping up to protect teammate Caitlin Clark during a game. Clark, the basketball star, not the podcaster, has been a target of hostility from players and media figures both on and off the court, and Cunningham made clear she would not stand by quietly.
Last month, ESPN itself tried to pull Cunningham into a political story, and she pushed back. The White House publicly defended Cunningham's right to speak out on protecting women's sports, a detail referenced by OutKick, though the specifics of that defense were not detailed in the report.
OutKick host Dan Dakich joined host Jon Scott to discuss the growing fan support behind Cunningham, praising her willingness to speak out on the issue of protecting women's sports. Dakich's broader point, reflected in the segment's headline, was that the WNBA itself lacks "integrity" on the question, a charge that resonates with fans who believe the league has dodged the transgender athlete debate rather than confronting it honestly.
Clark labeled Cunningham a "9-point scorer," reducing her to a stat line he chose to frame as disqualifying. But scoring averages do not capture what Cunningham does for her team. A player who shoots 45.5 percent from three, posts a +17 in 22 minutes, and provides the kind of toughness that goes viral is not someone the league should want to silence.
Clark's framing also reveals a selective standard. He argued that the league's "best teams and players" deserve more attention. Cunningham plays for the Indiana Fever alongside Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, a roster that just beat the New York Liberty. She is not drawing attention away from the league's best. She is part of it.
And the reason Cunningham commands a following has nothing to do with stat-padding or self-promotion. She spoke plainly about an issue that matters to families across the country. She did not back down when ESPN came calling with a political angle. She did not back down when a former ESPN analyst tried to diminish her from behind the safety of a podcast microphone.
Clark wants the WNBA to talk about basketball. Cunningham went out and played it, 4-for-5 from deep, best plus-minus on the floor, and a win. If Clark is looking for someone who lets their game do the talking, he picked the wrong target.
When a player stands up for something bigger than a box score and then goes out and fills one up anyway, the critics don't look principled, they just look small.
