‘There’s a flagrant level of resentment’ toward Caitlin Clark
OPINION: Three seasons into the Caitlin Clark era and the WNBA is doing everything it can to stifle the success of its star.
Caitlin Clark did what the league spent decades begging someone to do: she made America care about women’s professional sports. She sells tickets, drives ratings, and moves merchandise.
But because of the optics of a white woman dominating what was believed to be a black women’s sport, Clark’s opponents and the WNBA itself won’t be satisfied until she leaves the court on a stretcher.
That sounds harsh until you watch the tape.
Clark was on the floor fighting for a loose ball when Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas came crashing into the scrum and punched Clark’s throat. Clark’s head snapped back, she stayed down in obvious pain, and the referees somehow decided this was all perfectly normal basketball.
Fever coach Stephanie White said the obvious after the incident: “We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called. And I just say again, absolutely unacceptable.”
“Absolutely unacceptable” is nicer than I would’ve been.
The WNBA later assessed Thomas a flagrant foul and suspended her for one game after online backlash, which only made the original no-call look worse. If the league could review the tape afterward and conclude the play was suspension-worthy, what were the officials watching in real time? Were they distracted by a t-shirt cannon?
This was not some isolated incident, either. Two nights earlier, in a matchup between the same two teams, the officials found their whistle just fine when Clark clapped emphatically. The WNBA declined to rescind the technical after the Fever appealed.’
Stephen A. Smith Rips WNBA Over Caitlin Clark Treatment
Caitlin Clark has been the talk of the sports world over the last 24 hours and it’s come in large part to the questionable treatment she’s received from the WNBA.
There’s little doubt that the Indiana Fever superstar is the face of the league. But in many people’s eyes, that star power hasn’t helped her when it comes to the way games are officiated involving her. That was on full display Wednesday night during the Fever’s two-point loss to the Phoenix Mercury, a game Clark exited with a back injury.
Several members of the media called out the league, including ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith during his Sirius XM show on Thursday.
Smith Calls for Changes
“Folks can’t stop talking about Caitlin Clark,” said Smith. “You don’t know to ride that wave? You don’t know to be mindful and cognizant of that reality? Don’t you want to make money!
“What you don’t do is have such a disdain and disregard for her that her coach is complaining about intentional harm being aimed in her direction because of the resentment that she fuels. … You think Magic Johnson and Larry Bird wanted to concede the reigns to Michael Jordan? I’m not comparing Caitlin Clark to Jordan in terms of her ability even though she’s pretty damn good. I’m comparing her to him as it pertains to her box office appeal for her respective sport. She’s that girl. You ride that wave.
“You wan’t to beat Caitlin Clark, beat her playing basketball. … Compromising her ability to play because if she ain’t playing it’s going to affect ratings and if it’s affecting ratings then it’s effecting revenue and if it’s affecting revenue then you’re not going to build the sport the way you hope to build the sport.”
Stephanie White Calls Out Officiating
Mercury guard Alyssa Thomas was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and suspended one game for shoving her fist into Clark’s neck during Wednesday’s game. However, the discipline didn’t come until a day later. In the moment, Thomas was not whistled for the dangerous play.
The incident only added to the growing frustration surrounding Clark’s treatment, and Fever head coach Stephanie White made her feelings clear after the game.
“We have a generational talent and WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots [against her] right there that weren’t called,” said White. “Absolutely unacceptable.”
White also pointed to the league’s offseason efforts to improve officiating, saying consistency remains a major issue, particularly when it comes to how Clark is officiated.
“Absolutely disrespectful. We spent all offseason looking at officiating, and I still say the one thing that we keep asking for is consistency,” she added. “[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.”
