The physicality of WNBA players when interacting with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has been a topic of discussion ever since the phenom first entered the league.
While Clark has been at the center of a narrative storm from the moment she was drafted, she’s also often found herself knocked to the ground or fouled hard in incidents that have had many wondering if there’s an intent beyond good defense. There have also been criticisms of WNBA referees for not calling flagrant fouls and protecting players like Clark from overly aggressive contact.
Caitlin Clark, Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey were all assessed technical fouls after this play.
Jacy Sheldon was assessed a Flagrant 1. pic.twitter.com/okfTpJjRS7
— ESPN (@espn) June 18, 2025
After a heated game against the New York Liberty that ended with a controversial non-call on Clark as she was attempting a buzzer-beating three-pointer, Fever head coach Stephanie White said that the officiating discrepancy has been “pretty egregious” and that “the disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable.”
Debbie Antonelli knows a thing or two about good basketball. The former NC State star has been calling women’s basketball games for decades. The Fever TV analyst understands the importance of teams playing physical defense. However, she also believes referees need to call games fairly to ensure offenses have the opportunity to play their game.
Antonelli was asked what she thinks of the ongoing situation involving Clark and the intense defense she’s faced during a recent appearance on GoJo and Golic.
Here’s @debbieantonelli talking about the physicality in the WNBA. pic.twitter.com/VjuezBDfeX
— Ken Swift (@kenswift) June 28, 2025
“For me, I think the physicality in the game is in three areas: in the post, on the glass, and at the point of screening. The rest of it needs to be cleaned up,” she said. “I want to see the offense make the defense wrong. That means we can showcase our product at the highest level with the best-skilled basketball players in the world on the women’s side. And if we’re allowed to clutch and grab and push and shove… there’s one thing called ‘bump the cutter’ that used to be back in the day. Like freedom of movement is the real thing. Jumping to the ball on defense is also a skill.
“Caitlin has had her fair share of knocks. There’s no question about it. But also at the same time, she’s at the top of the scouting report. And if you want to win the game, it’s important that you limit what she can do. You take away her vision, you’re physical with her when she’s off the ball, you do all those things. And there’s a certain line. And if the referees don’t take care of managing that line, then players are going to cross the line.
“You guys know you’re going to try to do whatever you can to get away with as much as you can until it’s called out. And that means the whistle has to blow. And from Indiana’s standpoint, she’s been taking quite a beating.”
It’s a refreshingly open-eyed read on the situation from someone who wouldn’t be blamed for being one-sided. Antonelli obviously wants to see offensive firepower, and she wants defenses to be able to do what they need to do to stop it; however, she places the onus on the referees to keep things level. That’s a concern that we’ve heard from others around the WNBA world as well.