Speaker 1: We're gonna get started in the w NBA, but a
Speaker 1: new season tipped off this weekend with several marquee matchups
Speaker 1: on the slate. Most fans were excited to see Caitlyn
Speaker 1: Clark and Indiana Fever take on Ajer Reese and the
Speaker 1: Chicago scot The game was a blowout, as the Fever
Speaker 1: beat down Chicago ninety three to fifty eight, with Clark's
Speaker 1: triple double leading the way. But the biggest headline coming
Speaker 1: out of the game on Saturday is the investigation the
Speaker 1: WNBA is conducting in the allegations of hateful fan comments
Speaker 1: directed at Ader Reese.
Speaker 2: It happened after this play when.
Speaker 1: Clark slapped at the ball after reesecrabbed an offensive rebound
Speaker 1: and had a clear path to the basket.
Speaker 2: Reese fell to the court, got back up and tried to.
Speaker 1: Confront Clark, but Fever forward of Leah Boston got between
Speaker 1: the two women. Clark's foul was upgraded to a flagrant one,
Speaker 1: and Reese and Boston were assessed technical fouls. He's a
Speaker 1: statement from Scott CEO Adam Fox on fans who seemed
Speaker 1: a bit unruly following the incident, quote, we welcome to
Speaker 1: WNBA's investigation of allegations of famous common during our first
Speaker 1: game of the season. We will do everything in our
Speaker 1: power to protect Chicago Scott players, and we encourage the
Speaker 1: league to continue taking meaningful steps to create a safe
Speaker 1: environment for all w NBA players.
Speaker 2: End quote.
Speaker 1: Joining me now to discuss this as a basketball analyst
Speaker 1: for ESPN and the MSG Network. She played college basketball
Speaker 1: for the Georgetown Hoyas. That's wror Hoya paranoia for those
Speaker 1: of you who don't know. By the way, and her
Speaker 1: jump shot, I must confess that it looks better than mine.
Speaker 1: It's pretty money right there, pretty money right there. Please
Speaker 1: welcome the one and only Monica McNutt to the show,
Speaker 1: who I affectionately call eminem.
Speaker 2: What's going on, girl? How you doing? How's everything good?
Speaker 3: I say, I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. Yeah, we
Speaker 3: got to talk.
Speaker 2: We gotta talk.
Speaker 1: But you know me, I'm a veal left just a
Speaker 1: little bit. You know, how's the hubby has the married life?
Speaker 1: I know you got married a few months ago. How's life?
Speaker 3: It's lots of loving and learning.
Speaker 1: That's a great answer, I said, Damn great answer.
Speaker 2: I got to give it to you. No doubt about that.
Speaker 2: Let's get right into it.
Speaker 1: This whole Angel Reese, Kaitlyn Clark Brew Haha, what do
Speaker 1: you make of it from a basketball perspective? First, I'll
Speaker 1: get to the other stuff, lady, your thoughts.
Speaker 4: Basketball as say, basketball play, I mean, as much as
Speaker 4: the w husband elevated to all of these platforms, we've
Speaker 4: all pointed out that it is physical, right. I thought
Speaker 4: it was adjudicated appropriately by the officials. There's a push
Speaker 4: to Tasha Natasha Howard. First, to me, it appears that
Speaker 4: Kaitlyn takes exception to that, Angel takes exception to the file.
Speaker 4: I think both sides are fine here because to me,
Speaker 4: when we talk about competition, you cannot parse out the
Speaker 4: emotion of that experience, and so I thought it was
Speaker 4: adjudicated correctly. You thought both young women were cool post
Speaker 4: game in terms of their explanations or as Angel resai,
Speaker 4: it's a basketball play, let's move on. It is unfortunate
Speaker 4: that I think this is sort of blown out of
Speaker 4: context because it is a play that is common throughout
Speaker 4: the WNBA or earlier today on First Take, Jane highlighted
Speaker 4: other games I have very similar play because competing is
Speaker 4: an emotional experience and that's okay.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna elaborate a little bit more on that in
Speaker 1: just a second, but before I do that, I want
Speaker 1: to ask you your thoughts about apparently some racial animist
Speaker 1: that was thrown in the direction of Adrew Reeves the
Speaker 1: Chicago Sky I've gotten involved talking about they're going to
Speaker 1: protect their players at all. Course, the NWNBA has issued
Speaker 1: a statement saying that it abhors and discourages hate of
Speaker 1: any kind, et cetera, et cetera. Your thoughts about it.
Speaker 1: Here's the WNBA statement. The WWA strongly condemns racism, hate
Speaker 1: and discrimination in all forms. They have no place in
Speaker 1: our league on society. We are aware of the allegations
Speaker 1: and are looking into the matter. Your thoughts about that
Speaker 1: element of all of this, where you believe it emanates from,
Speaker 1: and do you think it will ever subside?
Speaker 4: Man The latter part of that, stephen A is quite
Speaker 4: the thing to think on. I think when you go
Speaker 4: back to the impetus of the rivalry that we have
Speaker 4: between Caitlin and Andrew's remember funny on the internet about
Speaker 4: two different Americas based on the music that was being
Speaker 4: played in the Iola locker room versus the LSU locker room,
Speaker 4: and I think at.
Speaker 3: The heart of it is.
Speaker 4: An issue with being able to appreciate this and celebrate
Speaker 4: the humanity and the athletic accomplishments of both of these women. Right.
Speaker 4: I do not think that all Indiana fans are all
Speaker 4: Kaitlyn Clark fans represent any one particular belief, but it's been.
Speaker 3: Clear over the last couple of years that there is a.
Speaker 4: Sect of folks that root for her, that have used
Speaker 4: her to push their agendas. I don't think Kaitlyn Clark
Speaker 4: has any issue colleagues or the other women in the WNBA.
Speaker 4: I think between she and Angel Reese there's mutual respect.
Speaker 4: But anytime these conversations hit the mainstream, right, it's easy
Speaker 4: to see that Kaitlyn is usually portrayed as the victim
Speaker 4: and Angels usually played portrayed as the villain.
Speaker 3: And that is rooted in my observation.
Speaker 4: Somebody can tell me I'm wrong, but it is rooted
Speaker 4: in my observation in.
Speaker 3: The racial identity of these women and where they come from.
Speaker 1: Well, I have something to say to you, Monica McNett
Speaker 1: that I think will be of incredible.
Speaker 2: Relief to you.
Speaker 1: I have no desire to debate you on this on
Speaker 1: this platform. On this platform, I am giving you the
Speaker 1: floor and allowing you to educate me and my audience.
Speaker 1: I am completely at your mercy in that regard. I'm
Speaker 1: simply asking the questions. But I'll ask you this, in
Speaker 1: all seriousness, what is your bigger concern when you highlight
Speaker 1: that Angel Reese, like Caitlin Clark, is usually the victim,
Speaker 1: Angel Reese is usually the villain.
Speaker 2: Is that your primary concern? Or is it this seemingly innate.
Speaker 1: Belief that people have that men can conduct themselves any
Speaker 1: way they want to, but women are supposed to operate
Speaker 1: under certain lines. I listen to you and Shaney and
Speaker 1: Andrea talk about these kind of issues constantly, and I
Speaker 1: really want to know what's the bigger concern in your eyes?
Speaker 3: You knows this one has unfolded.
Speaker 4: Malika and I were on the countdown desk for halftime
Speaker 4: of this one, and literally as unfolded, I'm like, well,
Speaker 4: see how this one plays out in the media. Right,
Speaker 4: and I have grappled with two things being true, right
Speaker 4: in that women should be allowed to compete in the
Speaker 4: same way that men are, but also because to me,
Speaker 4: the sensitivity of the humans that make up the WNBA.
Speaker 3: They deserve an extra level of protection. And I know
Speaker 3: that to a degree.
Speaker 4: You might say, mine, you can't have it both ways,
Speaker 4: But I think that's probably why we are at odds
Speaker 4: in the larger picture, because people don't have room for
Speaker 4: multiple ideas or even feelings to coexist.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 4: And So to your point, I think with time, the
Speaker 4: younger generation appreciates competition. I think women's sports is growing
Speaker 4: across the board. I think the competition piece will become
Speaker 4: commonplace and be accepted and celebrated. But to your point,
Speaker 4: I am struggling with some of the vitriol, not some
Speaker 4: with the vitriol that has come to an angel reach
Speaker 4: just to represent a swath of players who have had
Speaker 4: this experience being on the opposite side of interactions with
Speaker 4: Kaitlyn Clark, right, And.
Speaker 3: I don't blame Clark at all.
Speaker 4: And I am really sort of a fuddled at the
Speaker 4: solution because on the NBA side, if a player points
Speaker 4: to a fan in the stands and says that was inappropriate,
Speaker 4: the NBA, the officials, they move those folks are usually
Speaker 4: taken out right. I'm not sure if the WAA is
Speaker 4: there and there still is a learning curve. But I
Speaker 4: one hundred percent believe I say that these women should
Speaker 4: feel safe to compete and be protected from insanity, right,
Speaker 4: And I'm not saying you don't get hickled, but there
Speaker 4: is a line in sports, and to act like that
Speaker 4: doesn't exist, it's just ridiculous to me.
Speaker 1: Well, first of all, I think I want to make
Speaker 1: sure that we're clear, because I don't think we disagree
Speaker 1: as much as you have thought in the past or
Speaker 1: others have thought. I completely am aligned with you and
Speaker 1: you're thinking I think that where we we separate to
Speaker 1: some degree is that it's understanding it ain't gonna happen
Speaker 1: the way we.
Speaker 2: Like it like. It's it's unfair and it's wrong. We
Speaker 2: are aligned in that.
Speaker 1: But then I veel left from Monica or SHANEI or
Speaker 1: anybody else when I'm saying, ladies, it ain't gonna change.
Speaker 1: It ain't right, it's not fair, but it's not gonna change.
Speaker 1: And oh, by the way, there's an advantage to peal
Speaker 1: from all of this because it contributes to the elevated
Speaker 1: popularity of the sport. So guess what, sometimes it might
Speaker 1: be good not to really really mind. I know it's
Speaker 1: hard I know this is hard to accept, but sometimes
Speaker 1: it might not be hard.
Speaker 2: It might not be.
Speaker 1: Bad to accept the role of a pariah to some degree.
Speaker 2: You know why, because who's usually listened to. It's usually
Speaker 2: the parias.
Speaker 1: It's usually when people are polarizing, when people can be
Speaker 1: in your face, when people make you uncomfortable. That's who
Speaker 1: an audience gravitates to. And what happens is that if
Speaker 1: you have positive things for folks to peal from that,
Speaker 1: to edify themselves, it could end up being advantageous. So
Speaker 1: let's not get caught up in the wrong because we
Speaker 1: know they wrong and we know they ain't gonna change.
Speaker 1: Let's pay more attention to what we can peel from it.
Speaker 1: That's where I'm coming from to that.
Speaker 4: You say what And I understand that I just and
Speaker 4: I have not personally been in a game versus Clark versus.
Speaker 4: In the end, I can tell you what my mentions
Speaker 4: look like every time we have a conversation about it. Right,
Speaker 4: I do understand where you are coming from, But I
Speaker 4: just wonder. You know, last year, folks showing up to
Speaker 4: team buses and team hotels Like I just my concern
Speaker 4: is how far does this go?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 4: Because for someone to heckle in the audience and cross
Speaker 4: the line verbally or even across the line on the internet,
Speaker 4: that's that's one step, right, But if you are that
Speaker 4: committed to that, how many steps are you away from
Speaker 4: really crossing the line and safety concern?
Speaker 3: Does that make sense here?
Speaker 1: You're absolutely right. As a guys, you gotta worry about
Speaker 1: it too. And I think that for the ladies, what
Speaker 1: I would say to you is that we need to
Speaker 1: be significantly more concerned when men are trying to cross
Speaker 1: the barriers and getting ladies faces as opposed to ladies
Speaker 1: getting another ladies face. In other words, dudes gotta deal
Speaker 1: with dudes. Ladies gotta deal with ladies. But when you
Speaker 1: have punk dude that's trying to deal with the women
Speaker 1: that way, we all need to deal with you on
Speaker 1: that level.
Speaker 2: You see.
Speaker 1: That's how I'm looking at it. But you're absolutely right.
Speaker 1: I can't knock you for that. Do you think that
Speaker 1: that WNBA can end up elevating even more because of
Speaker 1: the attention this kind of stuff might bring from a
Speaker 1: competitive further standpoint?
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 4: I say, and again I am making space for multiple
Speaker 4: emotions in my experience as the w continues to move
Speaker 4: into the spotlight. Fair, yes, but at what costs rightly? Well,
Speaker 4: if it's come and love the league, if Kayla becomes
Speaker 4: your favorite player, amazing, If Angel becomes your favorite player, amazing.
Speaker 4: If it's Ae Wilson, Visa Colin, if it's Brian the
Speaker 4: Stewart amazing, amazing, amazing.
Speaker 3: I just I feel that the league, and we've.
Speaker 4: Kind of seen this in maybe missteps in conversations last season,
Speaker 4: the league has a responsibility to all right, and I
Speaker 4: don't know, I don't know how they navigate this idea
Speaker 4: of a responsibility to all.
Speaker 3: The statements are great, right.
Speaker 4: I say this one, This one boggles my mind because
Speaker 4: if we can have this conversation and then put a
Speaker 4: button on it and then get to how great the
Speaker 4: games were in the top three opening weekend experiences or performances, right,
Speaker 4: that's one thing. But I think to your point, the
Speaker 4: people that allowed us about this stuff, the.
Speaker 3: Conversation stops there for them.
Speaker 4: There is no depth in terms of appreciating the league
Speaker 4: at large, and honestly, like outside of Kaitlyn is great,
Speaker 4: like I mentioned to you as we started this conversation,
Speaker 4: she's used for whatever agenda folks have, and so I
Speaker 4: think for the for the league to really.
Speaker 3: Row, it's not controversial topics.
Speaker 4: It's been able to celebrate the beauty of the game,
Speaker 4: and that includes Kaitlin and the Indiana Fever right, who
Speaker 4: are gonna have a real chance to contend this year
Speaker 4: for a title.
Speaker 3: So I don't know, I don't know, no doubt for
Speaker 3: good In terms of these kind of conversations being good
Speaker 3: for the game, Well.
Speaker 1: I would say to you, though, I think that when
Speaker 1: it provokes conversation like we had this morning, when the
Speaker 1: world gets to hear Monica McNutt and it gets to
Speaker 1: hear SHANEO Guma, kay elaborate extensively, not just on what
Speaker 1: the league is or what it aspires to be, and
Speaker 1: how we all can serve a role in embracing the
Speaker 1: good and alienating the insidious nonsense that don't need to.
Speaker 2: Be a part of the league.
Speaker 1: That may be the best hope that the league and
Speaker 1: all of us from a societal perspective have in order
Speaker 1: to make things exactly what you think they should be.
Speaker 2: Eminem maybe that's where the answer to this is.
Speaker 4: You know what, I can give you credits, But like
Speaker 4: I said to you, also in our show, we highlighted
Speaker 4: great performances, right, And so I'm just I think I
Speaker 4: guess if we had to go with that being a positive,
Speaker 4: you hope folks come at it with a willingness to
Speaker 4: hear you. Ultimately may not agree, but I think we
Speaker 4: have the hold space for one another's experiences, you know
Speaker 4: what I mean. Like as the thing went through last year,
Speaker 4: you know, I took the folks that felt like they
Speaker 4: were alienated because it almost seemed like to be a
Speaker 4: Kitlin Clark fran was a bad thing and that was
Speaker 4: never what was said. If that is the sentiment of
Speaker 4: some folks, that's unfortunate. But I do think again, as
Speaker 4: much as we want to make sport about sport, and
Speaker 4: that is beautiful, these women can shoot, dribble, rebound all
Speaker 4: of that, we still have to acknowledge the society and
Speaker 4: the existence of the beings that we're talking about, and
Speaker 4: that will always find its way into the conversation.
Speaker 2: Well, I got to give you credit where credit is due.
Speaker 1: I think part of the solution also is people like
Speaker 1: myself and other male commentators being a bit more deferential
Speaker 1: to y'all when it comes to the WNBA, because damn it.
Speaker 1: Y'all know more about it than us. Y'all know more
Speaker 1: about the experiences than us. You damn sure know more
Speaker 1: about being a woman than we will ever know. So
Speaker 1: therefore all of those things come in to play. Let
Speaker 1: me get to one two last questions for I'll let
Speaker 1: you go and thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 1: Let's get to the product on the field that was
Speaker 1: a ninety three to fifty eight beat down.
Speaker 2: Is Indiana that good? On the sky that damn bad?
Speaker 2: How about that question, Minel.
Speaker 3: I think it's somewhere in the middle.
Speaker 4: I do believe that Indiana legitimately has a chance to
Speaker 4: be one of the last four team standing. The moves
Speaker 4: that they made this off season. Caitlin coming in as
Speaker 4: a rookie last year, blowing records to smithereens getting stronger
Speaker 4: this summer. I think at one point during the game
Speaker 4: her her arms was a trending topic because you could
Speaker 4: see her games.
Speaker 3: In the gym. Indiana's gonna have a chance to compete
Speaker 3: for real.
Speaker 4: I think I'm gonna give about forty percent of that
Speaker 4: performance to opening weekend nerves. Chicago is in a position
Speaker 4: to rebuild. Tyler Marsh is terrific he has been a
Speaker 4: part of the Aces championship as a part of Becking
Speaker 4: Hammond's staff. But they are figuring it out. They are
Speaker 4: sort of in a rebuild Indiana.
Speaker 3: They made the moves to Stummer that needed to be made.
Speaker 4: They went and got a coach and Stephanie White that
Speaker 4: has been to the w NBA Finals in the last
Speaker 4: two seasons. They went and got the leagues. I believe
Speaker 4: she's top three on the list. She tied Tina Thompson
Speaker 4: in terms of all time scoring and Dewana Bonner.
Speaker 3: They add a Natasha Howard. They're in it. Indiana is
Speaker 3: really really in it and so and Delanavanna only has
Speaker 3: seven points in that game.
Speaker 4: I say, like she didn't even get cooking yet. So
Speaker 4: Indiana is really in it. I think the sky are building.
Speaker 4: I think they'll be better than what they showed in
Speaker 4: Game one. But the guy in a different position than
Speaker 4: the fever art for.
Speaker 2: Sure, and the team to beat in the w NBA
Speaker 2: is who is it? The Liberty? Is it the Aces
Speaker 2: coming back trying to venge? Who's it? Who is it?
Speaker 4: It's deliberty, deliberty Because we talk about big games this offseason,
Speaker 4: Natasha Cloude is a big move for the already champions, right,
Speaker 4: she won a title NBC with the Mystics. She adds
Speaker 4: a dimension defensively that I don't know they had outside
Speaker 4: of Benijua Laney on the wing and Benije Lane Hamilton
Speaker 4: is actually out the season with knee injury. So yeah,
Speaker 4: Natasha Cloude is a big difference maker offensively and defensively.
Speaker 4: I would say, though, don't sleep on the Minnesota Lynx
Speaker 4: shol Reeve has a track record every other she gets
Speaker 4: to the finals, might lose, but comes back the next
Speaker 4: year and wins. And they were in the finals last
Speaker 4: year and lost. And I think Nafisa Collier has a
Speaker 4: real shot at MVP this year as well.
Speaker 1: And they got they got vengeance on their mind because
Speaker 1: they felt they were robbed last year by the Liberty
Speaker 1: with some you know, tell I get that part as well.
Speaker 1: Switching to the NBA before I let you get out
Speaker 1: of here, miss radio voice color commentary, extraord color commentated,
Speaker 1: extraorded there for MSG with Knicks games or whatever. Knickson
Speaker 1: in the conference finals. I mean, I mean, Liberty ain't
Speaker 1: the only one that got you know, they got a championship,
Speaker 1: but the Knicks got a shot. How much of a shot, eminem,
Speaker 1: how much of a shot do you give the Knicks
Speaker 1: to get to.
Speaker 2: The finals and ultimately to win it?
Speaker 4: Last question, we'll say I got the Knicks getting out
Speaker 4: of the sea in seven games.
Speaker 3: I've got to stay healthy.
Speaker 4: They've got to control the pace, and that doesn't necessarily
Speaker 4: mean that they need to slow it down and be
Speaker 4: io all in the half court. But then they need
Speaker 4: to be deliberate about their opportunities to run and delibered
Speaker 4: about their opportunities to execute quickly in the half court.
Speaker 4: If they find themselves chasing Indiana, I don't like it.
Speaker 4: I think Indiana is really really good. I take nothing
Speaker 4: away from that group, Harvey's Halibur and Pascal Siakam. I
Speaker 4: think Andrew Nemhart and Nie Smith don't get enough credit
Speaker 4: in terms of their defensive versatility.
Speaker 3: On the wing.
Speaker 4: This this is gonna be a slug fest, and it's
Speaker 4: really gonna be the battle of styles in it. So yeah,
Speaker 4: like they're deep, they're fast. I really enjoyed the opportunities.
Speaker 4: I've had to chat with coach Carlisle. I have one
Speaker 4: of their games versus the Milwaukee Bucks in that series.
Speaker 4: I don't know you can look at Cleveland, the Cleveland
Speaker 4: series and say, all right, well they were hurt, and
Speaker 4: I think that's fair, but I still don't take anything away.
Speaker 3: Just like the next they had.
Speaker 4: To make the most of the mishaps that the Celtics made.
Speaker 4: Indiana made the most of the mishaps for the Cleveland Capitaliers,
Speaker 4: and I don't take anything away from them.
Speaker 2: Emm. I appreciate you so much, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: I could just say thank you, but you know me,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna do a little extra come, thank you so much.
Speaker 2: Thanks a lot. Take it ease. The here right I
Speaker 2: see Sue.
Speaker 1: Okay, the one and only Modica McNutt in the house
Speaker 1: right here on the stephen A.
Speaker 2: Smith Show.
Speaker 1: She's special, special talent for us. Really really appreciate her
Speaker 1: and taking time out of busy schedule. She didn't have
Speaker 1: to do that, so I really really thankful for She's
Speaker 1: a great girl, great analyst by the way, doing big things.
Speaker 2: Proud to call a colleague.