Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark confronted a referee during the team's 88-75 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday night in Indianapolis, following a play where she was not awarded a foul call. The incident occurred in the second quarter when Clark drove to the basket and was bumped to the ground by Valkyries center Kiah Stokes. Despite making the layup, Clark fell and appeared to be in pain.
Following the play, which resulted in a questionable foul being called on Fever center Aliyah Boston on the other end, Clark approached referee Gerda Gatling, visibly upset. Clark left the game for a medical evaluation and did not return until the second half. She finished the game with 13 points, shooting 4-for-14 from the field and committing four turnovers.
After the game, Clark confirmed she suffered a "contusion" on the play. "The ref can’t miss that," Clark told reporters. "And then I have to play with a contusion in my leg the rest of the game. It’s ridiculous."
This incident marks one of several instances of Clark expressing frustration with officiating this season. On June 22, after a game against the Phoenix Mercury, Clark received a technical foul for clapping in response to a personal foul called against her. She voiced her displeasure, stating, "It’s ridiculous. I got a technical for clapping. We should all just go on the calendar now and pick a game that I’m going to be suspended for if I’m going to get technicals for clapping."
More recently, a play involving Mercury's Alyssa Thomas resulted in Thomas being retroactively assessed a flagrant 2 foul and a one-game suspension. Reports surfaced this week suggesting NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had urged WNBA counterpart Cathy Engelbert to suspend Thomas, a claim the WNBA has called "absolutely false."
With their loss on Wednesday, the Indiana Fever's record stands at 14-10, placing them sixth in the league standings.