Caitlin Clark Took More Heavy Contact As Her Coach Finally Broke His Silence — But The Video Fans Keep Replaying Is Fueling One Of The Biggest Officiating Debates Of The WNBA Season
Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White is fed up with how Caitlin Clark is getting treated during games … and a fist to the hooper’s throat seemed like the last straw.The league’s biggest name was roughed up during the Fever’s 111-109 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday … a contest Clark left in the third quarter due to back issues.
Prior to her departure, Clark was at the center of two incidents White considered to be “cheap shots” … including one that spread like wildfire on social media.In the second quarter, Clark fell to the hardwood as she dribbled through the paint … and Mercury player Alyssa Thomas dropped on top of her and put her fist on Clark’s throat. Thomas also stepped over Clark to get back in the action.Moments later, Clark attempted a three-pointer … and Valeriane Ayayi gave her no space, forcing her to land on the Mercury defender’s foot.
Clark eventually left the game … earning 19 points and eight assists for the Fever. After the loss, White expressed her frustrations with officiating … saying, “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.”White went on to call it “egregious and utterly disrespectful” to not blow the whistle. “She is not called the same way as everybody else is called,” she added.“The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous.”
