Caitlin Clark breaks her silence and asks Fever, WNBA fans to do better amid Alyssa Thomas incident originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Caitlin Clark returned to Indiana Fever practice on Friday with a strong message to fans after an incident with the Phoenix Mercury‘s Alyssa Thomas generated national headlines and controversy.
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“The harassment, the hate, none of that is okay,” Clark told reporters on Friday. “That goes for the opposing team, that goes for my teammates, that goes for my coaches. I don’t want anybody to ever experience that.”
Clark was speaking about the online vitriol that had been directed Thomas’ way after the Mercury star’s fist made contact with Clark’s throat during a scramble for a loose ball in last Wednesday’s game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
MORE: Caitlin Clark now knows exactly how WNBA players feel about her amid All-Star voting results
Clark revealed more frustration with the quality of WNBA refereeing, conceding that while refs have “one of the hardest jobs in the world,” she insisted that the league has to be better at safeguarding its players. She believed in real time that the Thomas incident was a flagrant foul, and she thought the officials missed a “straightforward” call.
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“It’s been a discussion for three years now,” Clark said. “We really need to do a better job of protecting the people in this league. I’ve been involved in a few of those plays, but there are plenty of others across the league who haven’t (gotten the call), teams make clips (to send to the league office) and nothing really changes.”
Clark called on the WNBA to pay referees like they are full-time employees. NBA referees can make up to $550,000 per year; WNBA officials, on the other hand, make a fraction of that, reportedly maxing out at $50,000 annually.
But the three-time All-Star’s main point was that discourse around her and the incident with Thomas has gotten out of hand.
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“I turn on the TV Sunday, the game was on Wednesday and that’s all people are talking about,” Clark said. “That’s a real disservice to our league. … For the narrative to be taken other places, that’s just really not acceptable.”
