- The Washington Times - Sunday, April 14, 2024

Women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark joined Saturday Night Live this weekend to poke back at the program’s coverage of women’s sports.

The presumptive No. 1 pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft joined the “Weekend Update” segment after host Michael Che joked about her planned jersey retirement. 

“The University of Iowa announced that basketball star Caitlin Clark will have her jersey retired and replaced with an apron,” Che said to start the segment. 

Clark then joined the desk to lightly rib Che, presenting a supercut of jokes he’s told at the expense of women’s sports. She then asked him to read a series of jokes she wrote that returned the favor.

“The Indiana Fever have the first pick in this Monday’s draft. A reminder that the Fever is a WNBA team and not what Michael Che gave to dozens of women at Purdue University,” a smiling Che said.

The NCAA’s all-time scoring leader drew rabid applause from the studio audience throughout the program. She ended the segment by shouting out the WNBA stars who came before her. 

“I’m sure [my first season] will be a big step for me, but it’s just one step for the WNBA,” Clark said, thanking former players Dawn Staley, Maya Moore, Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie. “These are the women who kicked down the door so I could walk inside.”

• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.

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