The Indiana Fever snapped a two-game losing streak on Thursday night with a win over the Atlanta Dream in a Commissioner’s Cup game. Despite a night when she wasn’t necessarily feeling like herself and threw up during halftime, Clark took over in the third quarter to push the game out of reach.
Clark finished the game with 17 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. However, despite her brilliance on the floor, the former Rookie of the Year is taking some heat for a moment when she got face to face with a game official and let a referee hear it.
The interaction drew some fierce criticism for Clark on social media.
“She is getting away with this spoiled brat behavior,” one person posted on X.
“Out of control. All these scared refs let her do it. Coaches too. Disgusting,” someone else posted.
“The way she’s allowed to talk to the refs out the side of her neck but black players have to count to ten before even making an attempt to do so, cuz if they do then the refs act scared for their lives or give them an immediate tech,” another person wrote.
As much as some fans might not like it, Clark spoke with reporters before the game about how her fiery competitiveness is a part of what makes her great.
“I’m competitive and I have an edge that’s what makes me great but sometimes it’s not something you always love too, she said. “But at the same time that competitive fire and that drive and that passion, that joy and that edge that’s what people come to watch. It’s what they love.”
Hopefully, fans begin to embrace her approach, similarly to the way they once did with Michael Jordan.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.