It’s been a rough few days for Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.
On Friday night, Clark declined to speak to the media after the Fever lost 90-88 to the Golden State Valkyries. Clark scored 16 points but went just 3-of-12 from the field and committed five turnovers.
And on Saturday, the Fever lost 100-84 to the Portland Fire, and Clark scored just six points while going 1-of-7 on field goals.
Making matters worse, video footage of a heated exchange between Clark and Fever head coach Stephanie White at the team’s bench went viral.
On Sunday, women’s basketball legends Cheryl Miller and Sue Bird discussed the incident at halftime of NBC’s coverage of the Valkyries’ game vs. the Las Vegas Aces.
“Right now, it’s frustration. And unfortunately, it’s boiling over, and it’s being seen,” Miller said. “It’s one thing to have it behind closed doors, but when it spills over, and when the coach has to basically say, ‘Hey, you know what, Caitlin? Enough is enough. This is too disruptive. In and out. Take a seat.'”
“I agree,” Bird said. “I think it’s frustration. I’m not, like, the best lip-reader. But I think Stephanie White did say ‘defense’ a couple times. And Caitlin Clark was in foul trouble this game. And obviously, we know how things are being called. So, I think it’s a lot of frustration. But, it’s, like, not that crazy. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this. It doesn’t have some deeper meaning to it.”
“I’ve had moments like that with coaches,” Bird continued. “I think it speaks to relationships. Player-coach relationships. Like, shoutout Brian Agler. You could say anything to that man. And you could keep it moving. And then I had other coaches, where maybe you couldn’t. And you have to learn each other in that way.”
“But you knew the line,” Miller responded to Bird. “You knew the line. When it becomes disruptive… Even Kelsey Mitchell kind of chimed in, like, ‘You need to go stand over here and let us regain the calm in our huddle.’ When it becomes that disruptive for the entire team, somebody has to step in.'”
Clark and the Fever (4-4) get several days off before their next game on Thursday (vs. the Atlanta Dream at 7:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video), and that might be a needed break for the team right now, even this early in the season.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.