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Indiana Fever coach eviscerates WNBA officials after latest scrum involving Caitlin Clark
By Paul Harvey
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Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has seen enough from WNBA officials this season, and she’s ready to see a change.
The latest incident involved a Tuesday game that included multiple scrums and multiple ejections against the Connecticut Sun. Things escalated when Caitlin Clark sustained a flagrant foul, and she was late sent to the floor by a body check from Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey.
Somehow, in that aftermath, Clark received a technical foul as things escalated. After the game, White confirmed the team received no explanation for that technical, but the head coach also said it was more of the same that the team has witnessed from the officiating.
“There wasn’t an explanation for the tech that she got. I think it was pretty obvious that stuff was brewing,” said White about the chippy nature of the game. “When officials don’t get control of the ball game, when they allow stuff to happen, and it’s been happening all season long. It’s not just this game.
“This is what happens. You’ve got competitive women who are the best in the world at what they do. And if you allow them to play physical and allow these things to happen, they’re going to compete. And they’re going to have their teammates’ backs… We knew this was going to happen. You could tell it was going to happen, so they’ve got to get control of it. They’ve got to get better.”
Asked to elaborate on control of the game, White admonished officials to “consistently” call all the fouls that happen on the court. She also described it as a league-wide issue and not something that is isolated to Clark’s performances.
“Bad officiating is bad officiating,” said White.
She eventually went on to describe the officials as the only individuals in the league not getting better:
“We say the same thing over and over and over. And nothing has changed, so I’m not sure outside of continuing to submit clips, continuing to talk about it… The game has changed so much, players are faster, they’re better, they’re bigger they’re stronger… the game is fast now,” White explained. “Things are happening quickly. Everybody’s getting better, except the officials.”
For her part, Clark did not talk about the officiating in the game. However, it will be interesting to see if the league tries to tighten things up after yet another incident involving one of the bright young superstars on the court.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.