WNBA referees accused of ‘disgusting’ and ‘outrageous’ Caitlin Clark treatment

WNBA fans slammed the league’s officiating in Wednesday’s elimination game between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun after several fouls against Caitlin Clark were not called

WNBA fans were less than pleased with the officiating in Game 2 of the playoff series between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun, with many arguing that a plethora of fouls against Caitlin 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 3-point attempt while being guarded by DeWanna Bonner. On the way down, she lost her footing after running into the Sun veteran, who collided with the 22-year-old while attempting to block the attempt.

Immediately following the play, Clark rushed over to a referee on the other side of the court and pleaded her case, though no foul was called.

Later on in the contest, Clark received an inbound pass and rushed down the court as Sun guard Veronica Burton trailed close behind. Upon driving to the basket, she was promptly met by Marina Mabrey, who went up to block the layup but blatantly slapped her in the face in the process.

After seeing a replay of the incident, the ESPN broadcasters could hardly believe that officials didn’t step in and stop play. “I mean, that’s a foul. An obvious foul,” one exclaimed, with the other chiming in: “And not called.”

Droves of critics expressed a similar sentiment online, insisting that the officials were missing multiple obvious calls. Addressing the play during which Bonner appeared to impede Clark’s landing zone on her shot comedown, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy wrote on X: “This is the most automatic call in the league. How the —- do you miss this? @wnba refs are so bad.”

Critics slammed the poor officiating in Game 2 of the WNBA playoffs first round (
Image:
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Portnoy later added, “These refs are literally blind. Its disgusting we keep using challenges on fake fouls.” Sharing a clip of the other play involving Clark and Mabrey in a separate post, he bluntly stated: “This is absolutely outrageous no call. Disgusting.”

This isn’t the first time that fans have slammed the WNBA’s officiating of Fever games. During Indiana’s 93-69 loss in Game 1 of the series, Clark was poked in the eye by DiJonai Carrington while attempting to pass the ball to Aliyah Boston – though no foul was called.

On the heels of several more missed foul calls, Fever supporters speculated that the WNBA could have it out for Clark. “It can’t be accidental at this point. We need a full investigation into what the refs have been told to do with regards to officiating Caitlin Clark,” one X user wrote, with another adding: “Why do all the players evidently seem to be intentionally trying to hurt Clark during the games, & nobody does anything about it. Matter of fact it’s the opposite.”

A third claimed: “The refs didn’t miss it. The WNBA hates Clark. There are players in the WNBA who are jealous and catty towards Clark. They are letting them get away with fouls so she gets frustrated and quits.”