Ex-ESPN host bizarrely criticizes Caitlin Clark’s “irresponsible” headline as fans are stunned: “You have literally contradicted yourself.”

Former ESPN anchor Jemele Hill is angry about “irresponsible” reports about Caitlin Clark that have led to a plummeting WNBA ratings — even though he appears to agree with them.

Hill caused confusion on social media with her bizarre rant about Clark, which brought unprecedented attention to women’s basketball last week before the end of her rookie season in the WNBA.

A record viewership of 2.54 million watched the Indiana Fever’s decisive playoff loss to the Connecticut Sun, while a previous record viewership of 1.84 million watched the first game of the series on September 22nd.

But with Clark and Indiana no longer in the competition, the first weekend of WNBA playoff games without them did not generate the same interest, as only 1.57 million watched both semifinal games combined.

Although the numbers show how popular the 22-year-old is, Hill rejected “irresponsible” headlines that simply stated facts.

The sports journalist shared a postAnd yet I keep seeing irresponsible headlines claiming that the WNBA playoffs are failing because there is no Caitlin Clark.

“Would the ratings be higher if she were there?” Of course. But guess what, a final would be rated higher if it was Lebron vs. Steph. Or if large market teams were involved.

‘So what? That’s the headline.’

Fans were quick to accuse Hill of contradicting herself after she admitted that viewership would be higher if Clark were still in the playoffs.

One wrote: “Starts the post by stating that the claim is false… and then states that the claim is true – Interesting approach.”

Another posted: “You have literally contradicted yourself.” In the first sentence you say it is irresponsible to say that ratings are going down because CC isn’t playing, but right after that you say that ratings are higher, if she were there.

“So if the ratings would be higher if she was in the semi-finals, then that means the ratings are down because she’s not there.”

“This is idiotic,” said a third. “The ratings have fallen.” Not irresponsible, but a fact. “The WNBA is nothing without Clark.”

“Isn’t that the point? She’s Michael Jordan or LeBron or Steph, people are trying to bring her down and treat her like she’s Jamal Tinsley…” a fourth user commented.

While one simply replied: “The numbers don’t lie.”

The first semifinal showdown between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces — two of the league’s most popular and successful teams — drew just 929,000 viewers, according to ESPN (via Fox News).

That number is 50 percent lower than the Fever’s Game 1 against the Sun, who also had an NFL Sunday to compete with.

While it may not match Clark’s numbers, Liberty and the Aces’ opening semifinal clash actually drew more spectators than any other final between the two teams last season.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Lynx’s first game and the Connecticut Sun’s semifinals had around 650,000 viewers.

Both semifinal games also fell well short of a number of Clark’s regular season games in terms of attendance; The Fever’s matchup against the Lynx drew 1.26 million viewers last month.

This game was also played on the same night and time as a Week 1 NFL showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.