She escaped a head injury against Seattle Storm but got no whistle on the play.

The spotlight on Caitlin Clark during her rookie season may be brighter than it ever has been on a WNBA player, but it does not seem to come with a generous whistle. This no call from the Indiana Fever’s game against the Seattle Storm spread on social media like wildfire, with many fans agreeing it would have been an ejection, let alone a foul, in an NBA game

Hard foul on Caitlin Clark sparks debate

“This would lead to an ejection if it was the men and for Caitlin Clark it’s not even a foul,” said a post with the video from a Twitter/X account dedicated to “exposing blown calls.” The video got nearly 2 million views and over 10,000 users “liked” the post in agreement.

“They treating a rookie like the bad boys treated the goat,” said one comment, drawing the comparison between the way Clark and Michael Jordan were refereed.

The no-call turned out to be merely a footnote in the game. The referees made up for it on the next play, letting Clark get away with some major contact on a Storm player, although it was not to the head.

Later on, the No. 1 draft pick had a chance to give the Indiana Fever its first win of the season, but the Fever did not execute on an out of bounds play. She was unable to get a shot away on the final possession, down two points, because of a poor inbounds pass. Indiana dropped to 0-5.

Does Clark deserve different treatment?

Still, like everything else she does, the no-call turned into a fiery debate larger than one WNBA game. The original viral post of the play captioned the video “brought to you by Spirit Airlines,” echoing statements from LeBron James and Charles Barkley that people should be more grateful for the positive changes Clark is bringing to the league.

Does that mean she should get more calls than other WNBA players? No. But her fans made it clear that getting the same protection as stars in the men’s game would be a good place to start.