Indiana guard Caitlin Clark left the Fever’s 111-109 loss to the Phoenix Mercury in the third quarter and did not return due to a back issue. Despite playing only 20 minutes, Clark still managed 19 points and 8 assists, but her night involved another confrontation with opposition players.
Super Bowl Champion Blasts Caitlin Clark’s Attitude
During this week’s segment of the “Speakeasy” podcast, Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl champion T.J. Ward blasted Clark for her confrontations with various opposition players this season.
“I think Caitlin’s problem is, she’s privileged, she’s a brat and she’s a great player,” Ward said. “But that’s what gets her in trouble. You don’t see these issues with Paige (Bueckers) and Sabrina (Ionescu). ‘Cause they’re nice. And if you can’t fight, you better be a nice person. As soon as one person sees you get knocked upside the head successfully, that fighting route is out.
“Everybody is gonna knock you upside the head when you try to fight. I think she needs to stop being so privileged and pompous. Needs to have more manners, be more friendly, be more sisterly. Her coach don’t like her. If it’s unanimous around the league that everyone doesn’t like you, even your own teammates, at some point you gotta look at the mirror.”
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In the second quarter of the game against Phoenix, Clark fell after some contact with Lexi Held and Mercury players DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas piled into the scrummage as they attempted to recover the ball.
In various replays, Thomas appeared to push her fist into Clark’s throat before stepping over the Fever guard, but the play went unsanctioned.
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On Thursday, Thomas received her comeuppance when, upon review, she was assessed a flagrant foul 2 penalty and a one-game suspension.
Stephanie White Defends Clark
During her postgame news conference after the game against the Mercury, Fever coach Stephanie White blasted the officials for failing to protect Clark from the rough treatment that she has received during her WNBA career.
“We have a generational talent and WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots [against her] right there that weren’t called,” White said. “Absolutely unacceptable. Number one, you’ve got to call it. It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful.
“Clark is not called the same way as everybody else is called. The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous. When you have these things continue to happen time and time and time again, eventually it gets frustrating.”
Since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Fever during the 2024 WNBA Draft, Clark has received a mixed reception from veterans in the league due to the hype she’s been accorded since her college basketball career with the Iowa Hawkeyes.