Caitlin Clark humbled Cooper DeJean when she responded to his claim that he could beat her in a one-on-one basketball game.
The Philadelphia Eagles draft pick revealed his former University of Iowa classmate sent him a text after suggesting he could ‘pull off’ a win over Clark on the court.
‘She took a shot back at me,’ DeJean told Kay Adams on Wednesday’s episode of her show, Up and Adams.
‘She texted me, and she said didn’t think that I could beat her. I’ll let her say that, but yeah, I mean, I think it’d be fun if we got to play each other.’
Ahead of the NFL draft last month, the former Iowa cornerback said he was confident he could beat the WNBA rookie if they ever met on the basketball court.
‘I mean, I was really just answering the question, but obviously, you know, Caitlin’s a special player,’ he told Adams.
‘She’s done so much for women’s basketball as well and the University of Iowa in general. So I have nothing but respect for her.’
Adams was doubtful that DeJean could do it, until he revealed he was also a standout high school basketball player.
‘I really wanted to play basketball coming out of high school. I wanted to play in college,’ DeJean explained.
‘[But] I stuck with football. It was probably the better option for me.’
In addition to playing football, he was a three-year varsity basketball player and all-state in track and field as a sprinter during his senior year.
When Adams asked if fans could expect a future matchup between the pair, DeJean said it would be tricky to coordinate.
‘She’s pretty busy right now,’ he said of Clark, who was No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA draft.
Fans were quick to jump in the comments section of the podcast clip, which was posted on X.
‘I see a good charity event in the making,’ one person commented.
‘Why do I picture the most civil trash talking between them. A lot of thank you and I’m sorry,’ another joked of the pair, who both grew up in Iowa.
Clark will play her first regular season game with the Indiana Fever next week.