Have you seen the foul that was committed on Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Caitlin during Saturday’s match against Chicago Sky?
Late in the third, Sky’s Chennedy Carney committed a “flagrant 1 foul” against Clark who did not have the ball. Carter, who was clearly in Clark’s blindspot and behind her and to her left, said the “b-word” and body-checked Clark to the floor.
Here it is if you haven’t yet seen it.
Okay, this IS HATING on Caitlin Clark. Face guarding, extremely aggressive play and the occasional hard foul can be describe as competitiveness. Going out of your way to call her out of her name and body check her to the floor without the ball is HATING. https://t.co/osFk320wMp pic.twitter.com/cRtiSnDVkm
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) June 1, 2024
Robert Griffin III, a former NFL quarterback, posted on X two days before Carter’s cheap shot on Clark that “the women in the @WNBA don’t ‘hate’ her.” They’re showing her respect by beating her on the court.” Griffin told a different tale on Saturday. “Okay. This IS HATRED on Caitlin. Competitiveness can be defined as aggressive face guarding and hard fouls. “Hating” is when you go out of your way and call her out by name, or body check her on the floor with the ball.
According to the Daily Mail, Matt Barnes, a 14-year NBA veteran who was formerly crowned champion, has criticized Clark’s Fever’s teammates for not doing enough to protect their star player.
“My question and issue is: Where are her teammates? I’ve seen girls half-a** pick her up when she gets knocked down. You’re supposed to protect your star, right? Barnes said.
As a child, I remember watching St. Louis Blues matches and a similar hit could have led to a brawl. A thugs would have at least been sent to punish the player for almost cold-cocking him.
Of course, men’s hockey and women’s basketball are not the same thing, but there is a small tangent I would like to make. In the 1990s, the NHL did an excellent job of cleaning up hockey. In the 1970s and 1980s, hockey had lost its finesse and became too much like “boxing on the ice”. In recent years, they have taken it to the extreme and the game has lost some of its flair.
We came up with the idea of bringing back enforcers, but with a twist. Each team could keep two enforcers, but their playing time would be limited. Matt suggests five minutes a period but I believe two minutes is enough to settle scores. The threat of having some brutes in the ’70s style on the bench could improve manners, without involving the referees too much.
This is because being a part of a group and defending teammates are important parts of playing for a team. It may sound silly or redundant, yet Clark was fouled blatantly and badly, and there was no one to defend her.
If WNBA teams won’t accept a player like Clark who, by herself, has attracted more fans than the majority of teams combined have brought in then the league will be condemned to mediocrity forever as a collection players who don’t form teams.
Whether you’re a WNBA fan, or not, it is a thrill to watch a group come together, whether they are a business unit, a military team, or a sports team.
On Saturday, no team was in Indianapolis. It’s sad. I don’t even know if it’s a sad comment on the Fever, or the WNBA as a whole.
