That was evident when the network chose David Dennis Jr.to fill in for Stephen A.
Smith this week on "First Take." Dennis claimed with a straight face that Clark isn't even "one of" the top guards in the WNBA and that players punching her in the throat are simply playing basketball.For background, ESPN hired Dennis in 2021, marketing him in part as the son of a civil rights activist.As an ESPN employee, his greatest hits include calling Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad "mortifying" and a form of "eugenics." He argued that White people have a "moral obligation" to defend Black people, even when Black people wrong them.
He also wrote a hit piece the day Hulk Hogan died, urging Americans to remember him "only as a racist." He, of course, offered no such moral accounting when writing about Kobe Bryant's legacy.ESPN'S COVERAGE OF CAITLIN CLARK IS A RACIALLY CHARGED, DISHONEST, AND EMBARRASSING MESS | BOBBY BURACKAs revealing as it is that ESPN employs someone like Dennis, it's just as telling that the network has rarely offered viewers an informed counterweight when discussing Clark.To its credit, the network finally did on Friday.NFL sideline reporter Stacey Dales stands on the field after an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.(Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)Stacey Dales, a former WNBA All-Star and current NFL Network reporter, joined "First Take" to debate Dennis.
Put simply, she offered a notable upgrade in intelligence."It is insulting.It is preposterous.
...Caitlin Clark is exceptional," Dales said after WNBA players voted Clark 11th among guards for the All-Star Game, a result Dennis defended.As Dales walked through Clark's statistics and on-court impact, a visibly flustered Dennis interrupted."But her turnovers!"Dales acknowledged the point before explaining that Clark's turnover totals are largely a function of how often the ball is in her hands.
For comparison, Nikola Jokic, who is widely regarded as the N...