After the Indiana Fever (10-8) dropped a 111-109 home contest against the Phoenix Mercury (6-13) from Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday night, which saw two-time WNBA All-Star Caitlin Clark exit with a reported back injury, head coach Stephanie White blasted the WNBA’s officials for blatantly ignoring numerous “cheap shots” on the former Hawkeye.
With 5:15 remaining in the third quarter, Clark was seen grimacing on the bench before heading towards the locker room, where the team ruled her out for the remainder of the game with the previously mentioned back injury. In her 20 minutes of action, Clark had 19 points on 5-for-9 shooting, 3-for-4 from 3-point land, and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, to go along with eight assists and one steal.
While White did not provide specifics on the severity of Clark’s back injury, as she is still being evaluated by team medical professionals, the Fever head coach did pinpoint two “cheap shots” Clark took during the game that may have contributed to the eventual back ailment.
“I just saw it. I’m not sure if it had any impact on the outcome or not, but it was egregious that it was a no-call,” White said in her postgame media availability on a non-call involving Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas pushing her fist into Clark’s neck.
“I heard about it at halftime and brought it to the attention of the officials, yet we still had 11 fouls in the fourth quarter to their two. They still shot 24 free throws in the second half. Number one: You’ve got to call it. It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful. Number two: You’re coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago, and that (explicit) still happens? Absolutely unacceptable.
“And the reckless closeout that they actually reviewed — the foot still comes down on top of the defender’s foot — that wasn’t upgraded? Absolutely disrespectful. We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who took two cheap shots right there that weren’t called. I’ll say it again: Absolutely unacceptable,” White said.
White noted that Caitlin Clark is not officiated the same way as other players throughout the league.
“We spent all offseason looking at officiating. All offseason. And I still say the one thing that we keep asking for is consistency. She is not called the same way everybody else is called,” White said.
The Fever coach elaborated on why she took such a strong stance in postgame.
“Because they were so egregious. I mean, the fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous.
“The landing spot: when you went to review it, and she still comes down on top of another foot… I don’t know, because to me, that’s like a do-over on a test. How do you screw it up again? And it’s just when you have these things continue to happen time and time and time and time and time again, eventually, it gets frustrating, but I thought those were just more egregious,” White said.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Fever coach slams ‘egregious’ no-call on latest Caitlin Clark cheap shot
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire | USA TODAY Network
