From the looks of things, WNBA players and WNBA fans are at odds regarding the relative value of needless fouls on rookie sensation Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever.
From all appearances, many of the league’s other players seem to think that the hostile “Welcome to the WNBA” treatment is perfectly fine. The fans, not so much.
This could potentially be discounted as a mere difference of opinion — until you realize that Clark is bringing in so many of the new fans watching the league, fans who are paying the salaries of the players not named Caitlin Clark.
The latest controversy involving a foul on Clark came during a Monday game between the Fever and the Connecticut Sun. The Sun, one of the league’s best teams at 10-1, dominated the Fever and notched a 89-72 win that wasn’t even as close as the score may indicate.
Not that this is a surprise — Clark is one of the few bright spots on a 3-10 Fever team that has taken home the last two No. 1 draft picks and seems in prime position to repeat that feat — but what did stun some fans at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut was how Clark was treated after a foul from Sun guard DiJonai Carrington.
“Clark, who came off a screen, caught the pass and started towards the basket. Carrington was late getting to Clark thanks to the screen by Aliyah Boston, and she bumped Clark,” Fox News reported.
“But Carrington didn’t like the call and thought that Clark exaggerated the foul,” the report noted.
“After the whistle, Carrington started mocking Clark. Boos came from the crowd while Carrington made the gesture. No surprise, there’s a very large contingent of the crowd that’s inside Mohegan Sun Arena to see Clark. “
— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) June 10, 2024
Carrington, a four-year veteran, scored 22 points in the game — but the booing at the hands of what’s supposed to be a home crowd for the Sun is what will likely be remembered as the latest instance of Clark apparently being targeted by opposing players.
Furthermore, Carrington’s display just over a week after a hard foul on Clark by Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter led to a media firestorm:
The league got a bounty on Caitlin Clark pic.twitter.com/aY2qlA2SOb
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) June 1, 2024
Carter refused to answer questions after that game, although she took to social media to like and repost people who were defending her, including some that accused Clark of flopping:
Caitlin Clark getting pushed by Chennedy Carter pic.twitter.com/f8kwfRgv3n
— marleejo⁷(•᷄ɞ•᷅)🧚🏽DT🐐 (@marleefinz) June 1, 2024
The WNBA didn’t agree with that assessment, upgrading Carter’s off-ball foul to a flagrant after the game. After practice two days later, Carter defended the move.
“I’m a competitor, and I’m going to compete no matter who you are, no matter who’s in front of me,” she said. “We’re getting at it. We’re going back and forth. It’s basketball. It’s all hoops. After we finish the game, it’s all love.”
Chennedy Carter talks about the flagrant foul of Caitlin Clark and whether Chennedy has any regrets. pic.twitter.com/F01rtgYfwk
— SoundOFF (@SoundOFF13) June 3, 2024
“I don’t have any regrets for anything,” she added. “I’m going to compete and play 100 percent hard no matter who it is, like I said, or who we’re playing.
Is Caitlin Clark being targeted?
This whole kerfuffle managed to dominate the media cycle for a few days, with sports fans turned off by the league’s rough treatment of its newfound meal ticket, and the predictable wokeistas saying that Clark represented white/straight/pretty privilege, or whatever.
One would have hoped that, once the clueless flibbertigibbets of “The View” were treating this as a sociopolitical issue, the WNBA would step in and put an end to this. Apparently not.
That being said, the Chennedy Carter effect is apparently subject to dramatically diminishing returns, as DiJonai Carrington found out.
Instead of coming off as a smart-aleck, she ended up drawing boos on her own home court. For any other WNBAers looking to score 15 seconds of fame by getting in a hard foul on Caitlin Clark, let this be a lesson: The phenomenon only works for so long.
