OutKick commentator Jon Root criticized Caitlin Clark after the Indiana Fever superstar’s underwhelming outing against the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday.
Clark finished Wednesday’s game with 13 points, the most she’s had since her return from injury. But she shot a measly 28.6% from the field and 12.5% from three-point range. Clark dished six assists but had four turnovers, including a critical one down seven, with 1:12 left in the fourth quarter when the Fever still had a chance to pull off a comeback.
Clark also faced immense scrutiny for furiously charging at an official in the second quarter. The Fever star claimed she was hit in the leg by Valkyries’ Kiah Stokes, and the referee should have awarded a foul. OutKick’s Root, who has been an ardent fan of Clark and the Fever, supported the star guard’s case, but in the grand scheme of things, wasn’t impressed with her.
“Caitlin Clark is broken mentally and physically,” Root said on X. “She came into the league with a temper, a slight attitude issue, & the biggest hype the WNBA will ever have. Now, some of those flaws & shortcomings have been exasperated by years of cheap shots, no calls, false claims that her fan base is ‘racist’ & overall awful officiating.”
“Mentally, she’s fragile. No excuse to crash out on a ref like she did tonight. Overall, she didn’t play well tonight vs Golden State. Her 3s were constantly short, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise based on a lack of conditioning due to missing games & minutes restrictions. She had a few bad turnovers again, especially down 7 after a big stop. I’ve written about how her TO problem is something that could really hurt her legacy.”
Root was responding to an X user who felt the OutKick reporter never criticized Clark in his commentary.
Clark’s struggles over the past three games since returning from an injury have been prominent, with the star averaging 11.3 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 turnovers in that span. She’s shooting 35.1% from the field and 15.8% from three-point range.
Jason Whitlock calls Caitlin Clark’s crashout “indefensible”
WNBA analyst Jason Whitlock also called out Caitlin Clark for her crashout during the Fever-Valkyries game on Wednesday. Whitlock retweeted the video and called out Clark’s fans, whom he refers to as a “cult,” to make his point.
“Caitlin Cult, this is indefensible. The Nutty Protester is a problem,” Whitlock said.
Whitlock also claimed that it should have been an offensive foul on Clark and that a technical foul should have been called on her. It aligned with the referee’s explanation to Clark. According to the official, the Fever star initiated the contact.
Initial replays showed that Clark extended her left hand to create separation. After Clark shared that she took a knee to her quad, slowed-down replays showed it was clear that the Fever star may have had a compelling argument.
Read more:
- “Isn’t Complicated” Stacey Dales Shreds Referee For Not Awarding Caitlin Clark With And-1 Before Fever Star’s Outburst
- “Paige, Angel & Olivia Get Tech’d For Less”: WNBA Fans Slam Caitlin Clark’s Crashout After Refs Allegedly Miss And-1 Call
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