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Slowly but surely, Caitlin Clark seems to be adjusting to the physicality of the WNBA.
But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still have a target on her back.
On Sunday, Chicago Sky veteran Chennedy Carter took dead aim at Clark, yelling “you a b—-” before leveling the rookie superstar with a blindside cheap shot.
Caitlin Clark gets called a b*tch then decked by Chicago guard, Chennedy Carter, away from the ball.
Does Caitlin need to toughen up, or are the women out to get her- What y’all think? pic.twitter.com/ajKvPQfr91
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) June 1, 2024
Clark briefly left the game to have her shoulder examined but quickly returned. Carter was only assessed a common foul on the play, which fans couldn’t believe.
The hit comes just two days after Clark was assessed a technical foul for an altercation with Victoria Vivians of the Seattle Storm.
“I think everybody is physical with me, they get away with things that probably other people don’t get away with,” Clark recently told Chloe Peterson of the Indianapolis Star. “It’s tough, but that’s just the fact of the matter. This is a very physical game, and you’re going to get pressure, this is professional basketball. It is what it is, honestly.”
The physicality is to be expected. Clark is already a superstar without “earning” that status in the eyes of some WNBA veterans.
But fans believe that at some point the league needs to step in and protect its investment.
Caitlin getting some weird @WNBA hazing … league must be fine letting a Star get roughed up? https://t.co/ZvzySECNWM
— Fes Ashburn (@Fesluv) June 1, 2024
Somebody from the front office better send out a league wide memo reminding players that the WNBA is registered as a sports entertainment company and to stop targeting their golden goose. https://t.co/vM0PX3t2ua
— Dan Roberts (@robertsdaniel) June 1, 2024
Clark got the last laugh, however. She scored 11 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists in a 71-70 win over the Sky and fellow rookie star Angel Reese.
Reese scored just eight points but added 13 rebounds. While Carter scored a game-high 19 points in the loss.