WNBA player Chennedy Carter is going viral for reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of her play, and it turns out that she isn’t complaining.
In the first remarks the Chicago Sky guard made to the media about a hard foul Saturday on Indiana Fever star and No. 1 overall draft pick Caitlin Clark, Carter said she had no regrets about the incident, which drew a technical and plenty of social media infamy.
The hard foul off the ball during the Sky’s 71-70 loss to the Fever got plenty of criticism from both pundits and fans alike:
The league got a bounty on Caitlin Clark pic.twitter.com/aY2qlA2SOb
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) June 1, 2024
After the loss, Carter wasn’t willing to elaborate on what precipitated the foul, telling reporters, “I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions.”
However, she later took to social media, first reposting and liking a fusillade of clips that defended her on her X account. She then posted on the social media platform Threads — a mostly vacant rival to X owned by Meta.
She asked, in regards to Clark’s talent, “beside three point shooting what does she bring to the table man?”
Is Caitlin Clark being targeted?
Post by @chennedycarter
View on Threads
Carter was a bit more vociferous after Monday’s practice, telling everyone that she wasn’t apologizing for the foul.
“I think at the end of the day, I’m a competitor,” she told reporters.
“Now that it’s another day, I’ve had an off day, now I can answer your questions and let you know how I really feel about things.”
“But 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.”
But, did she have enough love to say she regretted a hard, off-ball foul? Nope!
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 said. “I’m going to compete and play 100 percent hard no matter who it is, like I said, or who we’re playing.
“No, I don’t have any regrets.”
Now, first off, let’s erase any misapprehensions that this was about “competition” or being a competitor. The margin of victory for the Fever, who have only won two games this season, was one point — exactly the number of points scored by Clark on the ensuing free-throw for a gratuitous foul.
This isn’t necessarily helping the Sky any, particularly given the fact that losing to the Fever — who, despite the No. 1 pick in the last two WNBA drafts, are still struggling to put together a solid team around stars Clark and Aliyah Boston — is an embarrassment for any team in playoff contention.
And it’s not as if this is helping Carter’s reputation, as many on social media noted:
Almost as if she’s got issues. pic.twitter.com/YOl7E8aX0D
— ruben_theiowan (@IAcitynative) June 4, 2024
Carter was the No. 4 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft but was suspended by the Atlanta Dream after staying in the locker room when the team came out during a 2021 game against the Las Vegas Aces. She later threatened to fight a teammate over playing time. The Dream said her suspension was due to “conduct detrimental to the team.”
After a 2022 trade to the Los Angeles Sparks, she played 24 games before, as the Los Angeles Times reported, she was “benched for poor conduct during the season.”
After a year playing professionally in Turkey, she’s back in the WNBA ranks.
But, apparently, Carter believes she has nothing to apologize for and “no regrets,” despite the fact that she’s known primarily for a hard foul on the league’s biggest rising star. Nice work.
Remember, Chennedy, while the rising Caitlin Clark tide lifts all boats in the WNBA, it only helps if you’re still in the league.
