Getty Image / Brian Spurlock
Arguably the biggest sports story out of the weekend was the cheap shot that Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter gave Indiana Fever guard and rookie sensation Caitlin Clark.
The incident caused a firestorm on social media that still hasn’t died down over 48 hours later as Carter has repeatedly refused to show remorse. And, on Monday in her first press appearance since Saturday, she once again doubled down on having no regrets over the incident.
If you somehow haven’t seen the incident, here it is.
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
The two had been tangling up throughout the game, and there’s a video of Caitlin Clark hitting Chennedy Carter with an elbow while boxing out during the Fever’s 71-70 win.
It appears that @ChennedyCarter was retaliating for the elbow @CaitlinClark22 threw at her in the previous play. To be clear, I don't condone either action, but let's set the record straight. @WNBA pic.twitter.com/DjdjQJ0GJt
— KDM Graphics (@kdm_graphics) June 2, 2024
That still probably doesn’t mitigate what Chennedy Carter did, though. Plus, it didn’t help her cause when she refused to answer any questions about the incident after the game, liked posts on social media celebrating the incident, and then commented on social media that all Caitlin Clark brings to the table is three-point shooting.
On Monday, she made her first press appearance since Saturday, and had Caitlin Clark’s college rival, Angel Reese, with her. Reese also faced criticism over the incident after video showed her celebrating the hit on the bench.
When asked if she regretted hitting Clark with a cheap shot, she made it clear that she absolutely does not.
Chennedy Carter and Angel Reese chose to speak with media together following practice:
Carter said she has “no regrets”
“I’m going to compete and play 100% hard no matter who it is or who we’re playing.” @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/9rT0dMdrav— Jori Parys (@JoriParys) June 3, 2024
I do understand her saying that she’s going to play hard against everyone. As a professional athlete, or really an athlete at any level, that’s what she should do. But, a cheap shot like that one against Caitlin Clark probably doesn’t meet the definition of playing hard.
Sadly, Chennedy Carter’s career is always going to be defined by this, even though she’s a pretty talented player. But, she’s had issues with behavior before that landed her outside the league last year, despite her high talent level. At some point, she may want to think about an apology.