Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is the face of the WNBA and the most high-profile star the league has ever seen. But in just her third season in the league, some are already growing tired of her antics.
Throughout her career at both the college and professional levels, Clark has never been shy about sharing her emotions on the court, whether it’s talking trash to an opponent or expressing her displeasure to the referees. However, not everyone is a fan of the way Clark carries herself on the court.
In a column published on Friday evening, USA Today columnist Nancy Armour ripped Clark for her on-court antics, calling her out for “flopping” and “tantrums.”
‘Flopping and Disrespect’
In her column, Armour highlighted a few issues that she has with Clark’s behavior on the court, including flopping and disrespect toward the officials.
“The flopping that even a C-list actor would find cringey. The histrionics over calls and the disrespect toward the refs. The indignation over reasonable questions about the health of a player who missed most of last season with a series of injuries,” Armour wrote for USA Today this week.
Amour pointed out that while trash talk is fine, “petulance” and “tantrums” are not, criticizing Clark for flopping to embellish contact and “berating” officials.
“There’s at least one instance every game that Clark acts as if she’s been shot after pushing off someone else or she drops to the court without ever being touched,” Armour added. “There’s also at least one instance every game of Clark berating a referee over a call she didn’t get or one she didn’t think she deserved to get. She doesn’t even need to be playing to get worked up.”
Armour also pushed back against the claim that Clark’s opponents are targeting her because they are “jealous” of her.
“Contrary to what the most irrational base of Clark’s fandom believes, she is not being attacked,” she wrote. “Opposing players are not going after her because they’re jealous of her. The W is, and always has been, a physical league, and Clark is guarded harder and tighter because she so often has the ball in her hands and because there is no place on the court where she’s not a threat.”
Not Just Armour
Armour is not the only one to criticize Clark for her on-court behavior. Earlier this week, longtime sports commentator Cari Champion spoke out against the way Clark carries herself on the court.
“The more we get to catch these glimpses of Caitlin Clark, I’m like, ‘I don’t like you. I don’t like the way you behave on the court,’” Champion said during her Flagrant & Funny podcast.
Champion went on to call out Clark for her “entitlement.”
“And the league is positioning you to be its superstar because you are, and with leadership comes certain responsibility. And if you don’t want that responsibility, I understand that. But the way that you behave, this entitlement, the way you are talking to your coaches… you enjoy that. So if that’s what you enjoy, if you want to be the villain, if you want to be the tough person … then let it be. Because we’re coming at you the same way we could come at anyone else. And her fans need to recognize that. Like, she chooses that behavior,” Champion said.
Clark has made a lot of fans throughout her time in the WNBA, but she clearly has earned a lot of critics, as well.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.