Caitlin Clark suffered another brutal attack on the court Wednesday night when a 235-pound rival nearly smacked her in the head.
It comes amid increased concerns for the Indiana Fever rookie’s safety following a spate of incidents involving Chicago Sky players Angel Reese and Chennedy Carter.
Some figures, including Bill Maher and Clay Travis, have even claimed that Clark – who is at the forefront of the WNBA’s unprecedented skyrocketing popularity – is being targeted because she’s white and straight.
The first overall draft pick led the the Fever to their third consecutive victory when they beat the Washington Mystic 88-81, however a seemingly obvious foul that would have landed Clark on the free throw line was missed by the refs.
The 22-year-old, who finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and four steals, was about to attempt a layup when the Mystic’s 6ft5in center Stefanie Dolson knocked the ball out of her hands.
Caitlin Clark was attempting a layup when Stefanie Dolson knocked the ball out of her hands
‘How is this not a foul for Caitlin Clark???’ one fan captioned a clip of the incident on X.
‘Look at this #wnba your officiating is a joke,’ another chimed in.
‘As a new watcher of the @WNBA it seems they have a severe refereeing problem. I think even @WWE refs would have caught this one,’ a third viewer quipped.
‘Badly missed call by wnba officials; this happens too often, to many players,’ another wrote, while someone else echoed the sentiment, ‘Officiating in wnba is terrible, actually it sucks.’
Clark and the Fever were hit hard by critics after the team lost its first five games of the season, however the Iowa alum slammed those demanding ‘instant satisfaction’ from her.
‘No one came in here and said we were going to be WNBA Champions from day No 1 in our locker room,’ Clark said after the game Wednesday.
‘That was never our goal. Our goal was to get back to the playoffs and we’re fighting for that every single night. This is the first time we’ve won four home games in a row since 2015,’ she added.
‘You have to have perspective on things, and that goes for life too. Like have perspective on life. And there just needs to be solid perspective on what this team can accomplish.’
It’s been a tough rookie season for the former college superstar, who’s been the victim of particularly rough treatment from other players in the league.
Most recently, her longtime rival Angel Reese committed a flagrant foul against her during the Fever’s last meeting with the Chicago Sky.
Reese missed a block and smacked Clark on the head while she was jumping for the basket. Although it was an obvious foul, the LSU alum later threw shade at Clark, claiming the Fever received a ‘special whistle.’
It came a couple of weeks after Reese’s Sky teammate, Chennedy Carter, brutally hip-checked Clark.
Using her own bodyweight, Carter knocked the rookie to the ground as she stood waiting for the inbound during the third quarter.
The Chicago player seemingly yelling ‘you b***h’ at the 22-year-old, and remarkably managed to escape with a personal foul, which was later upgraded to a flagrant-1 violation.
WNBA fans weren’t happy with officials who failed to call a seemingly obvious foul
Clark finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists during the Fever’s 88-81 win
Clark’s fierce rivalry with Reese, and her teammates by proxy, has propelled WNBA viewership to never-before-seen heights.
The Fever’s 91-83 victory over the Sky on Sunday was the league’s most-watched game in more than two decades.
The highly-anticipated matchup averaged 2.25 million viewers, a 225% increase over most regular season games last season.
Viewership peaked at 3 million households, making the showdown the most highly-viewed game in 23 years.
The skyrocketing popularity of the sport, most of which has come on the back of Clark’s rising star, is leading some to use her name to to spread racism and misogyny.
Connecticut Sun player DiJonai Carrington is among those who have called out Clark for her silence in a ‘culture war.’
‘Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts. We all see the s***. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury,’ she tweeted earlier this month.
However, Clark pushed back on that narrative.
‘People should not be using my name for those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable,’ Clark said.