While the Indiana Fever advanced to the Commissioner’s Cup title game on Tuesday with a win over the Connecticut Sun, the talking point from the game had little to do with their impending title matchup with the Minnesota Lynx.
Fever coach eviscerates WNBA refs again after foul on Caitlin Clark, multiple ejections
After a series of incidents in Tuesday’s Fever-Sun game, Indiana head coach Stephanie White let her feelings be known on officiating in the WNBA.
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Jacob Rude covers Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever as an in-person, credentialed journalist based in Indianapolis for SB Nation, in addition to writing and managing Lakers coverage at Silver Screen and Roll.
Multiple scuffles between the Fever and Sun, with the first involving Caitlin Clark, culminated in a flagrant foul and three ejections late in the game... and Fever head coach Stephanie White going off on officiating postgame.
“I think every year when we have our league meetings in the fall and in the spring, we say the same thing over and over and over and nothing has changed,” White said. “So, I’m not sure outside of continuing to submit clips, continuing to talk about it. Look, [the officials’] job is hard. Their job is hard. [The players’] job is hard, right? Their job is hard. The game has changed so much. Players are faster, they’re better, they’re bigger, they’re stronger. They’re as good as they’ve ever been, they’re as athletic as they’ve ever been.
“The game is fast now. Things are happening quickly. Everybody’s getting better except the officials. So we got to find a way to remedy it. I mean, you’ve heard every coach talk about it, so I don’t know what the answer is.”
To recap everything that happened on the night, first we have to go back to the first half. Clark and Sun guard Jacy Sheldon have a long rivalry dating back to their days in college at Iowa and Ohio State, respectively.
Predictably, things were a little chippy between the two early on.
But things really escalated in the second half when Sheldon fouled Clark with an incidental poke to the eye. The ensuing scuffle saw Marina Mabrey knock Clark to the ground.
Surprisingly, Mabrey was not ejected from the game as she, Clark and Tina Charles all were assessed technicals and Sheldon was assessed a Flagrant 1.
The Fever went on to blow the game open the rest of the way, opening up a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter. Clark eventually knocked down one last 3-pointer — her fourth of the night — over Sheldon before turning to the Sun bench to have some words, too. Again, Sheldon and Clark had a little something extra to say to one another heading into the ensuing timeout.
With the officials largely ignoring that incident as well, the tensions fully boiled over in the final minute of the game. On a fast break, Sheldon was fouled hard by Sophie Cunningham, leading to another scuffle and multiple ejections.
Cunningham and Sheldon have a little bit of history, too. During their meeting earlier this season, Cunningham chipped her tooth in a coming-together with Sheldon.
This time, the officials ejected both Cunningham and Sheldon while also ejecting Sun forward Lindsay Allen.
White said she began speaking to the officials during the first quarter as she sensed “that stuff was brewing.” She was also quick to note that this isn’t the first time the officials have lost control of the game.
“When they allow that stuff to happen — and it’s been happening all season long, all season long. It’s not just this game, it’s been happening all season long — this is what happens, right?” White said. “You’ve got competitive women who are the best in the world at what they do, right? And when you allow them to play physical and you allow these things to happen, they’re going to compete and they’re gonna have their teammates’ backs. It’s exactly what you expect out of fierce competition.”
This isn’t the first time White has called out the officiating. After the team’s loss to the Liberty in May, White blasted the officiating for a perceived lack of foul calls, which she called “disrespectful.”
Perhaps further to her point of not having control of games, the Fever were involved in a scuffle with the Sky in the opening game of the season with Clark and Angel Reese at the center of it.
White also pointed out that this was not a Fever-specific issue, but one across the WNBA, too.
“Well, I’ve seen quite a few dustups in the league so far,” White said. “So I think it’s a league-wide issue. I mean, bad officiating is bad officiating.”
Given the nature of her statements, White will almost certainly get the league’s attention with a fine likely coming her way. But it’s clear the Fever feel things have crossed the line, and their coach is willing to put her money where her mouth is again.
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