Clark’s technical foul during the Indiana Fever’s Aug. 8 game against Chicago Sky was overturned, avoiding her eighth of the season and a suspension
Credit: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Caitlin Clark’s technical foul during the Indiana Fever’s Aug. 8 game against Chicago Sky was overturned, avoiding her eighth of the season and a suspension
- Clark earned a one-game suspension after she ran into a referee, though she later addressed the incident and said the contact was unintentional
- WNBA rules enforce a one-game suspension after eight technical fouls in a season, plus fines for additional violations
Caitlin Clark earned a one-game suspension over the weekend after she ran into a referee, marking her eighth technical foul of the season. But the decision was overturned just hours later.
During the Indiana Fever’s game against the Chicago Sky at the United Center on Saturday, Aug. 8, Clark, 24, drove past the Sky’s Natasha Cloud during the third quarter of the game, moving out of bounds and bumping into an official.
The referee gave Clark a technical foul just a moment later — her eighth of the season — which triggers a one-game league suspension.
Clark reacted with confusion after the whistle blew. Videos show her raising her hands and asking, “For what?”
Credit: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty
A spokesperson for the Fever told The Athletic that the Indiana team almost instantly appealed the star’s foul.
But later that afternoon, the foul was rescinded, and Clark will not receive a one-game suspension, ESPN and USA Today reported.
“[The referee] said I ran into her. I’ve already watched it on the tape,” Clark told ESPN’s Holly Rowe on the court after the game, which the Fever won 90-86. “So, we’ll let the league decide, but it wasn’t intentional or anything. So, I’m hoping it’s getting rescinded.”
Indiana coach Stephanie White also received a technical for her angry reaction to Clark’s foul.
“That’s a bad call — incidental contact when you’re flying out of control,” White said after the incident, per ESPN. “I thought her teammates should have come up and talked to her about that as well. I think that’s really bad. That s— happens all the time in the game. You know, officials have to have some awareness in those moments, and it didn’t happen.”
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WNBA rules state that a player or coach is automatically suspended for one game if they receive eight technical fouls during the regular season, according to USA Today.
Any technicals after that come with a $1,500 fine, and if they take place during the regular season, they can result in an additional one-game suspension.
Clark’s on-court conduct has come under scrutiny this season, and the WNBA star has said that she tries to maintain a balance of playing competitively and putting her team ahead of her.
Indiana is next set to face the New York Liberty on their home court in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
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