Being the face of a growing sports league at just 22 years old comes with some obvious pros and cons.
Just ask Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.
The pros? Well, your star power is veritably nuclear, which counts for a lot in today’s social media-driven world. And you can do a lot of good with the influence one wields over legions of fans.
But the cons? Where to even begin …
First of all, there’s the rank and not-so-subtle jealousy that comes from veterans and opposing players who have languished in relative obscurity until Clark burst onto the WNBA scene this year.
(Clark does seem mature beyond her years.)
Secondly, and perhaps more annoying for Clark given this actually affects her on-court, is that the former Iowa Hawkeye is also under an intense microscope — for both good and bad.
While much of the media is quick to laud Clark every time she smashes a record or makes history, the star rookie appears to also have a penchant for drawing the attention of referees, and seldom for good reason.
The entirety of the preceding statement bore true on Sunday, when Clark shattered a new record — while also getting entangled in a controversy with a zebra.
Are you a fan of Caitlin Clark?
The Fever beat the Seattle Storm 92-75 on Sunday, but the main story to emerge from the game (apart from the suddenly-frisky Fever, who are battling for a playoff spot) was yet another incredible Clark accolade.
This time, the precocious rookie finished the game with 23 points, nine assists and five rebounds, a mighty fine stat line by any measure.
But those nine assists were of the historic variety, because it helped push Clark to break the rookie record for most assists in a season.
The prior record, set by the now-defunct Sacramento Monarchs’ Ticha Penicheiro, was a total of 224 assists, per ESPN.
Clark’s performance on Sunday left her with a total assist tally of 232.
But a separate Clark performance — deemed too “disrespectful” by a WNBA referee — also left the rookie tied for second in the WNBA for most technical fouls.
You can see the incident for yourself below and judge if it was worthy of a tech:
I just witnessed one of the worst technical fouls ever called on Caitlin Clark just now.
Misses shot on one end, comes back on defense, ball goes out of play, slaps stanchion in frustration, gets called for a tech.
Insane. pic.twitter.com/aTyZPhNyOl
— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) August 18, 2024
The X account which posted the viral video certainly didn’t think Clark’s emotional response to a basketball stanchion merited a foul. It called the whole incident “one of the worst technical fouls ever called.”
Speaking to reporters after the game, Clark relayed the explanation that the ref had given her, while also throwing in a wry bit of thanks.
“Well, I got a technical [foul] for basically being mad at myself because I missed a three[-pointer],” Clark explained when a reporter broached the subject. “And then I went and hit the [stanchion], and [the ref] told me it was ‘disrespectful to the game of basketball.’”
Clark, who sort of raised her arms as if to say, “What can you do?” would explain that this reminded her of a similar incident in college where she was purely upset with herself, and she was dinged with a technical foul.
CC says the ref told her it was “disrespectful to the game of basketball” after she got a tech for hitting the hoop base, mad at herself for missing a 3.
Compared it to when she got one for saying “damn it” in college.
Adds: “I think he fired me up to play a lot harder.” pic.twitter.com/qTCRDSgVdi
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) August 18, 2024
“But I think that he fired me up to continue to play a lot harder,” Clark jabbed. “I thought we got a lot better after he did that. So I want to thank him.”
Clark and the Fever, currently sitting on a record of 13-15, have nearly a week off as they don’t play again until Saturday, when the team travels to face a very good Minnesota Lynx team.
