HENDERSON, Nev. – Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has been fined $200 for a social media comment where she criticized the officiating during the recent playoff series against the Atlanta Dream.
Clark, through his X account, shared the news with laughing emojis, referring to a screenshot of a comment on Instagram where he wrote: “The referees couldn’t stop us.”The player, who was ruled out for the season due to an injury on September 4, drew attention to the issue at the Fever’s training on Saturday, shouting to reporters from the gym: “Hey everyone, go see my tweet!”.
Her teammate, Sophie Cunningham, who has also been fined several times this season for criticizing the referees, commented on X: “That’s really going to break the bank!”, and added: “I’m starting a GoFundMe now!”.
Arbitration was a significant topic of conversation during the first-round series between the No. 6-seeded Fever and the No. 3-seeded Dream. At least 36 fouls were called in each game, including 43 in Game 1.
The Fever finally defeated Atlanta thanks to a comeback victory by 87-85 in the decisive Game 3, with Aliyah Boston scoring the basket that gave them the lead with 7.4 seconds remaining in the game.
The Fever will face the Las Vegas Aces in the next round, with Game 1 scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
It was a soccer game. There were bodies flying all the time. Frankly, that made the basketball very ugly and I think that’s something the league needs to analyze.
Becky Hammon, Aces coach
Clark, Cunningham, and three other Fever players have had to watch the playoffs from the bench after suffering injuries that ended their seasons. Damiris Dantas was also out for the first round due to a concussion. Her status for the semifinals is uncertain.
Clark also commented on his X post: “THE BENCH MOB WILL BE EVEN MORE OUTRAGEOUS TOMORROW LET’S GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!”.
