Stephen A. Smith DESTROYS DiJonai Carrington for Hitting Caitlin Clark in the Eye INTENTIONALLY

Steven A. Smith had strong words about the recent incident where D’Jai Carrington poked Caitlyn Clark in the eye during the opening playoff game. The play left Caitlyn with a black eye just 90 seconds into the game, but she battled through, showing toughness as always. Steven A. didn’t hold back, calling the poke reckless and slamming the WNBA for not stepping in. He’s right—something like that should have been a foul.

This is the playoffs, and Caitlyn Clark, the league’s breakout star, deserves better protection. Her shooting wasn’t the same after the injury, going just 4-for-17 from the field, but she never gave up. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy also joined the thousands on social media in bashing the WNBA. He wrote on X, “Why does the league let players wear gigantic nails if they use them as weapons? We’re lucky CC didn’t lose an eye here.” Reminder: no foul was called, and Caitlyn played with one eye for the rest of the game and had her worst shooting performance in months after this.

This might be the reason why Clark had one of her worst shooting nights since she joined the W. She only shot 23.5%, going 4-of-17 from the field, including 2-of-11 from three. Caitlyn’s grit is what makes her special, but players like her shouldn’t have to fight through avoidable injuries.

Stephen A. demanded stricter rules and accountability from the league, and he’s got a point. The WNBA needs to ensure its top players are safe on the court. After Clark was hit in the eye, she briefly joined the bench when the Indiana Fever called a timeout. Despite the pain, she chose to continue playing. Though she made eight assists in her 36 minutes on the court, it was only a consolation statistic.

In the postgame press conference, she did not blame D’Jai Carrington’s dirty move for her failure. In the end, whether Carrington’s move was intentional or just reckless, it’s clear Caitlyn deserved more protection. The WNBA has to address incidents like this to prevent them from happening again. Let’s see if any changes come out of this, but one thing’s for sure—Steven A. has ignited the conversation. Only subscribe if you support Caitlyn Clark.