The Indiana Fever got their second win of the season on Saturday, topping the Chicago Sky 71-70 in Indianapolis — but it didn’t come without controversy.
In the third quarter, Chicago guard Chennedy Carter committed an away-from-the ball foul on Caitlin Clark that saw Clark tumbling to the ground before an inbound pass. During the game, the officials ruled the contact a common foul and did not review the play.
The following day, the WNBA upgraded the foul to a flagrant-1 violation upon further review. The change in ruling allots Carter one tally in an accrual system that counts towards a future suspension. (Should it have been upgraded during the game, Clark would have been awarded one additional free throw.) The organization determined that Carter will not receive a fine.
Interviewed during the game, Clark called called Carter’s actions “not a basketball play.”
“I wasn’t expecting [the foul],” Clark told reporters in the postgame press conference. “But it’s just like, respond, calm down and let your play do the talking, it is what it is. It’s a physical game, go make the free throw and then execute on offense. I feel like that’s what we did.”
Earlier last week, Clark expressed her frustrations over what she views is a double standard when it comes to receiving contact from opponents.
“I feel like I’m just at the point where you accept it and don’t retaliate. Just let them hit you, be what it is, don’t let it get inside your head and know it’s coming,” she said. “I think at this point I know I’m going to take a couple of hard shots a game and that’s what it is. I’m trying not to let it bother me and just stay in the game and stay in what’s important because usually it’s the second person that gets caught if you retaliate.”
After Saturday’s win, Fever coach Christie Sides took to social media to demand the WNBA take action, calling the officiating “unacceptable.”
“When will the consistent complaints be heard?!? Something has to be done!” she wrote.
Carter, meanwhile, would not address the foul postgame, telling reporters she would not be answering “any Caitlin Clark questions.” However, she later spoke out against Clark on social media, tweeting “beside three point shooting what does she bring to the table.”
In response to the scuffle, Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon released a statement on Monday morning saying that she had discussed the incident with her player and that Carter — along with the rest of the team — will learn from the situation.
“As a team, we will grow together and continue to work hard to display strong leadership and set a positive example for our competitors, fans, and partners,” Weatherspoon concluded.
