'When will these ladies realize, accept and appreciate Caitlin Clark is the best thing that ever happened to women's basketball'
More eyeballs are watching the WNBA than ever before — because of Caitlin Clark — and many couldn't believe referees didn't eject Sun guard Marina Mabrey for knocking the Fever star to the ground in the third quarter of Tuesday's game.
Sun guard Jacy Sheldon poked Clark in the eye while Clark was trying to pass the ball. Clark turned back to Sheldon and the two shoved each other as their teammates ran in to separate them. Then Mabrey came over and knocked Clark to the ground.
"Oh Marina Mabrey is going to be ejected," Fever play-by-play announcer Pat Boylan said on the broadcast as Clark fell to the ground. "If the officials saw that, then Marina Mabrey is going to be ejected... Mabrey's day is almost assuredly going to be done."
3 players ejected in Fever-Sun game: Refs explain why Marina Mabrey wasn't
Well, it wasn't. The referees reviewed the play and upgraded Sheldon's foul to a flagrant, but only assessed Mabrey a technical (along with Clark and Tina Charles).
It was a puzzling decision. And one that led to later fireworks when Sophie Cunningham exacted some retribution on Sheldon in the game's final moments, committing a flagrant foul on her own that resulted in a scuffle and three ejections.
Fever coach Stephanie White unloaded on the refs postgame, saying, "Everybody's getting better, except the officials."
One of the most accomplished female athletes of all-time weighed in, too.
Former tennis star Chris Evert posted on X after the game: "When will these ladies realize, accept, and appreciate Caitlin Clark is the best thing that ever happened to women's basketball. This is a bad look for the sport and what's happened to sportsmanship?"
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