WNBA referees have been accused of disgusting and outrageous treatment toward Caitlin Clark. WNBA fans were less than pleased with the officiating in Game Two of the playoff series between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun, with many arguing that a plethora of fouls against Clark were not called.
Just over three minutes into the first quarter of the Fever’s 87-81 loss, Clark pulled up from near half-court and fired off a deep three-point attempt while being guarded by DeWanna Bonner. On her way down, she lost her footing after colliding with the Sun veteran, who attempted to block the shot.
Immediately following the play, Clark rushed over to a referee on the other side of the court to plead her case, but no foul was called. Later in the contest, Clark received an inbound pass and sprinted down the court, with Sun guard Veronica Burton trailing close behind.
As she drove to the basket, Marine Johannès went up to block her layup but blatantly slapped her in the face in the process. After seeing a replay of the incident, ESPN broadcasters could hardly believe the officials did not intervene.
“I mean, that’s a foul—an obvious foul,” one broadcaster exclaimed, with another chiming in, “And not called!”
Droves of critics expressed similar sentiments online, insisting that officials had missed multiple blatant calls. Addressing the play where Bonner appeared to impede Clark’s landing zone, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy wrote on X, “This is the most automatic call in the league. How do you miss this?”
Portnoy later added, “These refs are literally blind. It’s disgusting. We keep using challenges on fake fouls.”
Sharing a clip of the other play involving Clark and Johannès in a social media post, he bluntly stated, “This is absolutely outrageous. No call. Disgusting.”
