Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is the face of the WNBA, and some seem to think that she gets some “special treatment” from the referees as a result.
Last week’s game between the Fever and the Golden State Valkyries got a little spicy as Clark got into several dust-ups and verbal altercations with Golden State players, specifically veteran wing Tiffany Hayes. In addition to taunting Hayes, Clark received a technical foul for an argument before halftime and a flagrant 1 for a hard foul in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Clark admitted that she probably took things too far, in large part because she did not realize that she had picked up a technical foul in the first half, which put her at risk of ejection if she picked up a second one in the second half.
“Wow, I could have gotten ejected,” Clark admitted after the game, while also criticizing the officials. “I should have been a little bit safer in the second half.”
Clark also finished the game with five total fouls. One more and she would have fouled out.
Of course, Clark did not receive a second technical foul, nor did she pick up a sixth foul late in the game. And some seem to think that’s a sign of preferential treatment from the referees.
Criticism Mounts for Caitlin Clark
After last week’s game, Hayes was caught on a hot mic before her postgame press conference, criticizing the referees for the way Clark is officiated.
“They’re never going to start calling the fouls on her,” Hayes said in comments picked up by a nearby hot mic. “If they did, she would never get to play the game.”
Hayes is not the only one who seems to think that Clark receives some preferential treatment from the officials.
During a recent episode of her Flagrant & Funny podcast on Wednesday, longtime sports commentator Cari Champion criticized the WNBA, calling out the apparent double standard that the league’s officials show to Clark.
Champion brought up the recent game against the Valkyries and recalled an incident last season in which Clark went viral for telling a referee to open their eyes. She compared Clark’s antics to a recent technical foul that Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers received for simply clapping after a play.
“That type of blatant favoritism annoys the hell out of me,” Champion said on the podcast. “I don’t know if this is her fault, because I think it might be unfair for me to say that this is her fault. But at the same time, it’s like, why is she getting this special treatment? And it just is, yet again, another example of the league and its fans… being so precious with her.”
Champion acknowledged that Clark can’t necessarily control how she is officiated, but she “chooses that behavior.” She also called out the league for the way they seem to be handling her superstardom.
“I think the league is not handling her well,” Champion said. “I don’t think coddling her behind the scenes is going to create what they think it’s going to create.”
We’ll have to see if things change, but it’s clear that some people aren’t too fond of what feels like a double standard.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.