When Chicago Sky power forward Angel Reese karate-chopped Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark in the neck for a hard foul Sunday, it marked the second time this month that Clark was the subject of a questionable foul by a Sky player.
Earlier this month, Chennedy Carter, another Chicago Sky player, shoved Clark to the ground in what was a blatantly dirty play directed at the one player in the WNBA who is making the league relevant on the national stage for the first time in its nearly 30-year history.
Caitlin Clark is the single greatest thing that has happened to the WNBA in decades. Everywhere she plays, arenas are filled to capacity, television ratings are soaring, and revenue across the entire league is growing at a record pace. All because of this one player that sports fans are excited to watch.
On the court, Clark has been met by a different reception. Her fellow athletes have shown their envy on their sleeve, all while legacy media outlets claim that Clark’s popularity is due to racism and homophobia, as she is white and straight in a league dominated by black and lesbian players.
It was no surprise, then, that when the media had the opportunity to question Carter and Reese about their on-court behavior, no reporter seemed interested in asking the question that is at the front of everyone’s minds: Does the WNBA have a dirty player problem?
When Carter entered her postgame press conference after her dirty foul on Clark, the first thing she told reporters was that she would not answer any questions about the Indiana Fever superstar. Fine. But that doesn’t mean reporters shouldn’t have asked her about her temperament on the court.
When Reese stepped to the podium this weekend, she said that she had done nothing wrong and that it was the referees who were giving Clark unfair deference.
“I’ve seen a lot of calls that weren’t made,” Reese said. “I guess some people got a special whistle.”
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Instead of letting both players offer up excuses for their behavior, the reporters at the press conference should have put both of them on the defensive. Carter should have been asked if she is a dirty player, and Reese should have been asked if she thought it was OK to hit Clark in the neck.
If the women of the WNBA want to play basketball in a manner that has no regard for sportsmanship, then media outlets have a responsibility to make those same players defend their reputations as clean and honest players. For now, it’s an entirely reasonable conclusion to draw that the league has a dirty player problem.