On Tuesday, sports commentator Dan Dakich praised Caitlin Clark, calling her “always the adult in the room” and highlighting her maturity off the court. Ho the Clark’s Indiana Fever lost to the Golden State Valkyries the next day, Dakich changed his tune.
As Dakich watched Clark deal with the Valkyries’ imposing defense (not to mention the officiating of this defensive coverage), he posted a brief Tweet criticizing the Fever guard.
“Truthfully…. Caitlin Clark is hard to watch”
Though Dakich didn’t add context to his tweet, Clark once again displayed a behavior that has drawn flak from many observers: pleading her case to the referees in a highly demonstrative manner.
Late in the second quarter, Clark saw an open lane to the basket and drove in for a layup. As she did so, Valkyries center Kiah Stokes rotated, resulting in a minor collision that knocked CC to the ground. With the layup going in, Clark stared at the baseline referee as she rose to her feet and got back on defense.
During a dead-ball situation just seconds later, Clark unleashed her feelings, getting in the face of referee Gerda Gatling and making it clear that she was unhappy with the non-call. While Clark was emphatic in her words, she received a warning rather than a full-blown technical foul.
Though Clark finished with 13 points, three rebounds, and six assists in this game, she shot inefficiently, making just four of her 14 field goal attempts. Unfortunately for Clark and the Fever, this shooting clip would also qualify as “hard to watch,” in Dakich’s words.
“They Said She Initiated the Contact”: Stephanie White Reacts to No-Call on Caitlin Clark in Loss to Valkyries
It wasn’t just Caitlin Clark who took issue with the referees on this night.
After the Fever lost 88-75 to the Valkyries, head coach Stephanie White took a sarcastic tone when addressing the non-call in the Clark-Stokes sequence.
“They said Caitlin iniated the contact…She seems to always be initiating the contact.”
White did admit that the Valkyries, who shot 51.7% from the field while holding the Fever to just 40.3%, were the “tougher team” on this night.
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