The WNBA’s rookie stars can’t say Diana Taurasi didn’t warn them.
“Reality is coming,” Taurasi told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt during the NCAA tournament. “You look superhuman playing against some 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time. There is going to be a transition period where you’re going to have to give yourself some grace as a rookie.”
If new fans who flocked to the league were expecting an extension of the tournament, which drew record viewership, they were in for a surprise. In the first few weeks of their pro careers, NCAA stars including Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have discovered just how right Taurasi was.
The latest example came Saturday, when Clark’s Indiana Fever faced the Chicago Sky, the team that drafted Kamilla Cardoso, who led South Carolina past Clark’s Iowa squad to this year’s national title, and Reese. In the Fever’s 71-70 win, Chennedy Carter, a Sky reserve, appeared to call Clark a “b----” before shoulder checking her as she waited for the ball to be inbounded near the end of the third quarter. The call was deemed an away-from-the-ball common foul and was not reviewed.
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Carter refused to discuss the play after the game, replying, “I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions.” Clark deferred to her coach and told reporters: “It is what it is. I feel like I’m just at the point where you accept it and don’t retaliate. … I’m trying not to let it bother me.”
Here's an extended look at the Caitlin Clark - Chennedy Carter incident, there was more to it than the shoulder check and Clark was clearly talking to her on the way back up the floor from the prior basket by Indiana pic.twitter.com/1XG1RyzTw4
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 1, 2024Coach Christie Sides said the Fever has collected video of plays on which Clark has been “getting hammered” to send to the league for review and indicated Carter’s foul probably would be the latest entry. Later Saturday, she called Carter’s foul “unacceptable” in a post on X, adding: “When will the consistent complaints be heard?!? Something has to be done!”
Fever General Manager Lin Dunn also implored the WNBA to take action. “There’s a difference between tough defense and unnecessary — targeting actions! It needs to stop! The league needs to ‘cleanup’ the crap! That’s NOT who this league is!!” she wrote on X.
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The play came at a significant time for the WNBA, which did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment. However, the league did confirm Sunday that Carter’s foul had been upgraded to a flagrant-one under a rule that states: “If contact committed against a player, with or without the ball, is interpreted to be unnecessary, a flagrant foul-penalty 1 will be assessed. A personal foul is charged to the offender and a team foul is charged to the team.” The league also announced that it fined Reese $1,000 for failing to make herself available to the media for interviews after the game and the Sky $5,000 for failing to ensure its players comply with media policies.
Physical play is nothing new in the WNBA. Reese, in fact, was on the receiving end of a more dangerous play late last month. In a May 25 game against the Connecticut Sun, Reese was battling Alyssa Thomas for a rebound when Thomas grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the floor. The back of her head smacked the court, but Reese was not injured and stayed in the game. The foul was determined to a flagrant-two upon review, and Thomas was automatically ejected.
“It’s not just because I’m a rookie,” Reese said of the incident. “I’m a player. I’m a basketball player. They don’t give a damn if I’m a rookie. I want them to come at me every day; I want them to come at everybody. They’re not supposed to be nice to me. I hope you all know that. They’re not supposed to be nice to me or lay down because I’m Angel Reese or because I’m a rookie.
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“Thank you, A.T., for sending a message to me because I got back up and kept going and kept pushing. Me and A.T. have been cool since we were in Maryland, so I know it’s not no hard feelings. I appreciate her for going at me every day.”
Matt Barnes, who played an enforcer role at times during a 14-year NBA career and now co-hosts the “All the Smoke” podcast, called out Clark’s teammates. “Throughout the season she’s been getting beat up — hard screens, elbows, knocked down,” he said on Instagram. “It is what it is. She’s not the first. She won’t be the last. My issue and my question and is: Where the f--- are her teammates at? Where are the rest of the Indiana Fever at?
“I’ve seen a couple girls smirk when she’s gotten knocked down … Y’all are supposed to protect the asset. You always protect the star. … It’s going to be a problem because you all are supposed to be a family and you wonder why you sit at the bottom of the league right now. The rest of the league is going to continue to test her. That’s what they’re supposed to do, and it’s your guys’ f---ing job to have her back and have each other’s backs.”
After she decided not to answer questions from reporters after Saturday’s game, Carter did respond later in the day on social media.
troll notifications blowing up . I love it 😘
— H O L L Y W O O D 🛬 (@ChennedyCarter) June 1, 2024ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeBcHyVaGdrZ5OWtrW4yKdknKSRp7hutMCrm2aklajAsLrSZq6nmpFk