Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers received technical fouls for the same reason: clapping. During the Dallas Wings vs the Atlanta Dream in May. After a foul was called on Bueckers, she clapped enthusiastically, for which she received a technical. The foul was rescinded after review.
Caitlin Clark first got a personal foul, which drew a reaction from teammate Myisha Hines-Allen. She got into a scuffle with the Mercury players. Clark clapped enthusiastically, which was deemed a technical foul for instigating. Unlike Bueckers, the foul was not rescinded, and the Fever star had to pay a fine of $1,000.
Analyst Robin Lundberg further broke down the two incidents and explained why Bueckers’ foul was rescinded and why Clark’s was not.
“The clapping technical that she received that was rescended. The reason this is different, as you can see, there is no player interaction here. It’s not in anybody’s face. There’s nothing else going on in the game. It’s just Paige clapping to herself very quickly,” he said (0:29).
“Caitlin’s technical for clapping was in the midst of a skirmish on the floor. A lot was going on. You’re the officials. You’re worried there could be a fight. Things could really get out of hand. And Caitlin is animated in that moment. Myisha Hines-Allen, Alyssa Thomas are face to face and she comes over and claps. It looks like she’s encouraging her teammate for stepping up. But it’s a very quick and brief clap and then, you know, [she] is sort of like firing up the crowd in that moment and that’s what she got the technical foul for,” he explained (1:06).
In his opinion, despite the differences between the two incidents, neither should have been called a foul.
Robin Lundberg compares Jose Fernandez and Stephanie White’s reactions to both incidents
Lundberg mentioned that Fernandez said he wasn’t going to say anything about the incident because he didn’t want to get a fine. The analyst shared that this was calling out the bad decision without actually saying it.
Stephanie White, on the other hand, did not condemn the technical foul. Lundberg pointed out the difference. Then he went on to criticize the officiating of Clark so far this season. He mentioned Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins and said they are celebrated for being fiery.
Lundberg also broke down a highlight clip of questionable officiating against Clark.
“I’ve been making the point, uh, over and over again that the level of contact Clark has called for on the defensive side is not equal to the whistle she is getting on the other side,” he said (8:36).
He concluded by sharing that the Fever and Clark are still appealing her technical foul, pending a decision from the WNBA.
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