WNBA star Caitlin Clarkfaced backlash after confronting a referee during the Indiana Fever's game against the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday.
With under five minutes remaining in the second quarter, Clark attacked the basket and scored to cut Golden State's lead to 31-27. However, the All-Star playmaker thought she was fouled by Kiah Stokes on the play.
Stokes appeared to hit Clark in the quad area, causing the Fever star to fall after scoring. Unfortunately, no foul was called on the play. Clark looked visibly upset as she limped back to the other end of the floor to play defense.
Just a few seconds later, after the Fever were called for a foul on another play, Clark exploded in anger and went after the referee to complain.
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In the postgame press conference, Clark talked about the incident when asked what made her so upset that she confronted the referee.
"That knee right in the quad, like, that hurts. The ref can't miss that. And then I had to play with a contusion in my leg the rest of the game. It's ridiculous. Can't miss calls like that," Clark said, per the Indianapolis Star.
Clark was also clearly not satisfied with the referee's explanation for the non-call. The referee told Clark that it was her who "initiated the contact."
"She said I initiated the contact, which is fine," Clark revealed. "[But] you can't hit me in the leg. Knock me over."
Making matters worse for the Fever, they ended up losing to the Valkyries, 88-75. Clark struggled for the rest of the game, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. She also had three rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block.
It is unknown if the hit Clark took to her quad will affect her availability for the Fever's next game. It should be noted that the 24-year-old is still trying to get back to full health following a back injury.
Indiana will play back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday against the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty, respectively.
