WNBA SUICIDE! Chennedy Carter Caitlin Clark BACKLASH Goes NUCLEAR! Christie Sides Comments!
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WNBA SUICIDE! Chennedy Carter Caitlin Clark BACKLASH Goes NUCLEAR!Christie Sides Comments! Martina Navratilova & Austin Rivers slam players going after Clark! Ratings and Attendance have skyrocketed since since the Iowa basketball product entered the NBA sponsored league.
Basketball world reacts to Chennedy Carterās off-ball foul of Caitlin Clark
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Indiana Fever picked up their second win of the season ā their first at home and a win in their first Commissionerās Cup game ā edging the Chicago Sky 71-70 on Saturday behind 18 points from Kelsey Mitchell and 17 from NaLyssa Smith.
However, after the game, all the talk focused on Chennedy Carterās off-ball foul of Caitlin Clark.
Chennedy Carter scores and gives a shoulder to Caitlin Clarkpic.twitter.com/nQxkw1rvhH
ā ā¶ āļøšš£šš¦š¤ ā¶ļø ā¶ (@_MarcusD3_)Ā June 1, 2024
Asked about it after the game, Carter refused to talk about it.
Chennedy Carter on the sequence with Caitlin Clark in the 3rd quarter: āI aināt answering no Caitlin Clark questions.ā
Full clip:Ā pic.twitter.com/4bRnyXgPjV
ā Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1)Ā June 1, 2024
This led to a lot of reactions, both from within and outside the WNBA. Here is a sampling.
ā¢ Clarkās postgame reaction: āYeah, I wasnāt expecting that. But itās just like, respond, calm down and let your play do the talking. It is what it is. Itās a physical game, go make the free throw and then execute on offense. Feel like thatās what we did.ā
ā¢ Clark made the free throw on the foul in what ended up being a one-point game.
ā¢ Chicago rookie and long-time Clark rival Angel Reese got some criticism for standing up and cheering the play on the Sky sidelines.
ā¢ For a lot of fans ā especially Clark/Fever fans ā this was seen as the latest in a long line of overly physical play Clark has had to deal with this season.
ā¢ Fever coach Christi Sides seemed to agree with those fans in er reaction on social media to the play.
This is unacceptableĀ @wnbaWhen will the consistent complaints be heard?!? Something has to be done!Ā https://t.co/QVf1vHA5l4
ā Christie Sides (@ChristieSides)Ā June 1, 2024
ā¢ Draymond Green also took to social media and said Indiana needs to go get an enforcer.
Draymond says the Indiana Fever should āinvest in an enforcerā after seeing teams go after Caitlin Clark šĀ pic.twitter.com/vVlnY2VN2u
ā Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops)Ā June 2, 2024
ā¢ Jake Paul weighed in as well.
Hating on Caitlin Clark is hating on opportunity for an entire sport
ā Jake Paul (@jakepaul)Ā June 1, 2024
ā¢ A lot of commentators want to see this as an example of the physicality and treatment Clark has gotten since coming in the league. However, anyone who has watched the WNBA knows Carter plays a physical game and isnāt afraid to mix it up ā this is not a one-off situation for her. This is a physical player doing what sheās done before, and that includes making a bad decision about when to mix it up. It was an uncalled for foul (and I would have said a Flagrant), but itās not something where Carter was way out of character.
ā¢ Clark reacted to the physicality she has seen this way: āI feel like Iām just at the point where you accept it and donāt retaliate. Just let them hit you, be what it is, donāt let it get in your head and know itās coming. I think at this point, I know Iām gonna take a couple hard shots a game, and thatās what it is. Iām trying not to let it bother me, and just stay in the game and stay in whatās important.ā
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JEALOUS ANGEL REESE GETS SLAMMED FOR CALLING OUT CAITLIN CLARK | HER MOM SAYS IT’S RACIST
Jealous Angel Reese Gets SLAMMED For Calling Out Caitlin Clark | Her Mom Says It’s RACIST
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Caitlin Clark tells JuJu Watkins spotlight is on her now, Fever star offers support while practicing at USC
Watkins broke the NCAA freshman scoring record last season and led USC to the Elite Eight
Getty Images
Caitlin Clark was the biggest star in college basketball for the last two seasons, but now that she’s moved on to the WNBA, there’s room for someone else to step into the spotlight. Clark, like so many others, expects it to be USC guard JuJu Watkins.
In fact, Clark told Watkins as much herself at the Wooden Awards in Los Angeles last month. Both were finalists for the Wooden Award — given to the best player in college basketball — which Clark won for the second year in a row.
“She was like, ‘I had this attention for a year and a half, two years,'” USC coach Lindsay GottliebĀ told The Orange County Register, remembering Clark’s words to Watkins. “She said to JuJu, ‘You’re going to have it for the next three.'”
Clark went even further last week when she met Gottlieb after the Indiana Fever’s practice at USC’s Galen Center ahead of their matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks —Ā a game Clark sealed with two ridiculous 3-pointers in the final minute. She gave the USC coach her phone number and offered to help her and Watkins navigate the coming pressure.
“I’m certainly going to utilize that as a resource, if she’s this willing,” Gottlieb said. “I think that’s just a neat thing. And I do think it’s really cool on her part to be willing to pay it forward, so to speak, and help someone else.”
That is a terrific gesture from Clark, who knows better than anyone what Watkins is about to go through. There will be media responsibilities, constant attention from fans, both online and in real life, and expectations to produce every time she steps on the court.
Clark admitted earlier this year it gets overwhelming at times.
“The hardest part about being Caitlin Clark I would say is having to feel like you’re always ‘on,'”Ā Clark said. “You just have bad days, and those days where you don’t want to talk to anyone, but somebody comes up to you and this is their 10-second interaction with you, so you better smile and be kind. But at the same time, it’s just like, you want to be normal sometimes.”
The easiest part for Watkins to handle will be on the court, where she put together a historic freshman season. Her 920 points set an NCAA freshman scoring record and put her 121 points ahead of Clark’s pace for the all-time Division I scoring record of 3,951 points.
Watkins was named a First Team AP All-American, won the Ann Meyers Drysdale award as the nation’s best shooting guard and led USC to the Elite Eight in her first season. The Trojans could be even better next season with the arrival of star transfer Kiki Iriafen from Stanford, giving Watkins a chance to do one thing Clark never did in college: win a title.
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“ACES COACH CLARIFIES REMARKS ON CAITLIN CLARK IN VIRAL COMMENT”
“Aces Coach Clarifies Remarks on Caitlin Clark in Viral Comment”
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Aces Coach Explains ‘Black And White Stuff’ On Viral Caitlin Clark Comment
On Saturday night,Ā Caitlin ClarkĀ and the Indiana Fever took on Kelsey Plum and the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces. The Fever look for their second win in a row.
Earlier this week, Aces head coach Becky Hammon and star A’Ja Wilson had an interview during the team’s practice. Coach Hammon made a noteworthy comment about Clark and the negative attention she has been receiving, mentioning ‘black and white stuff.’ This comment quickly gained widespread attention online.
Her original comments were posted by Alex Eschelman.
“‘Letās be very clear, we love Caitlin Clarkā¦I think this narrative of everybody hating on her, and even the black and white thing, knock it off, itās not there.’ Good stuff here by Las Vegas Aces Head Coach Becky Hammon and A’Ja Wilson on the national conversation surrounding the WNBA star rookie.”
Before Saturday’s game, Hammon explained her viral comments on Clark.
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon
Ā© Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports
āItās construed as some of our minority black & brown women are hating on [Caitlin Clark] because sheās white & that is not the caseā¦ But it has highlighted how black & brown greatness has not been celebrated,” Hammon said.
Hammon’s comments were captured and posted online in a video by Callie Lawson-Freeman.