The Chicago Tribune sparked a firestorm of criticism Monday following an editorial that compared Chennedy Carter’s hip-check foul on Caitlin Clark during Saturday’s Fever-Sky matchup to an “assault.”
In the editorial entitled, “Caitlin Clark’s main ‘privilege’ is one of talent. She must not be allowed to become a target for rule-breakers,” it’s suggested that, “Outside of a sporting contest,” the foul committed by the Sky veteran “would have been seen as an assault.”
“The foul committed by Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter was egregious. Outside of a sporting contest, it would have been seen as an assault. Even within a sporting context, it was bad: before the ball even was inbounded, Carter came up from behind Clark, shoving her at the hip and knocking her over. Lip readers simultaneously construed a five-letter epithet dancing on the Sky player’s lips. She should have been ejected from the game,” the piece states.
The backlash was swift, with several members of the sports media community weighing in.
“The Tribune Editorial board chiming in on something like this is … just what is happening here?” former “SportsCenter” host Jemele Hill posted on X.
“This is NOT IT, @chicagotribune. This was a flagrant foul, later called correctly & should have been called in the moment,” Sarah Spain of espnW wrote. “She got caught up in a sport, as athletes do all the time (often to a far worse extent!). Stop infantilizing these women! They’re professional athletes!”
Former ESPN star Bomani Jones also stated, “Told y’all we were gonna mess things up when we showed up.”
Julia Poe, who covers the Bulls for the Chicago Tribune, posted: “I cannot overstate the depth of my disappointment in this piece. The editorial board operates completely separately from the sports section. There is no oversight from myself or our staff. This is not a reflection of how we will cover the Sky.”
The interaction between Clark and Carter in Saturday’s game has continued to dominate headlines for days.
During the third quarter of the Fever’s eventual 71-70 win, Carter went to defend Clark, who was looking for an inbounds pass after the Sky guard scored a basket.
Clark was knocked down to the floor following a hip check from Carter, who was called for the foul.
The WNBA announced Sunday the foul against Clark was upgraded to a flagrant 1.
A slew of on-air personalities waded into the discussion of the following day, with Stephen A. Smith and Monica McNutt trading barbs on “First Take,” and Pat McAfee brazenly calling Clark a “white bitch” in a controversial moment.
The ESPN personality later apologized for his comments.