Caitlin Clark received her seventh technical foul of the season after an exchange with Saniya Rivers during the Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun game on Wednesday. The pair exchanged words during the third quarter.
Rivers claimed that she was guarding Clark and stopping her. This drew a reaction from the Fever star as she shouted “scoreboard,” perhaps referring to her team’s dominance in the game.
The referees saw this taunt as a violation and handed Clark a technical foul. Former WNBA star Stacey Dales appeared on The Rich Eisen Show on July 24 and talked about Clark’s recurring troubles with the officials.
“It was a joke,” Dales said. “She said to Caitlin, ‘Basically, I’m locking you down.’ Okay. Caitlin had 27. They had their big three, like they dominated. They had 123 points and all Caitlin said was scoreboard. That’s why she got a technical, scoreboard. Scoreboard,” she added (2:10).
“I love watching [Rivers]. She’s a feisty player. I love watching her. So, you get you get eight technicals. You’re suspended for a game. A game, right? So, she’s on her last [foul], she’s got one more card. She’s about to hit a red card here. We’re halfway through the season. It feels like it’s inevitable,” she continued.
Clark is now tied with Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese for most technical fouls this season. If Clark gets her eighth technical foul, she will suffer a one-game suspension and a fine of $1,500.
Stacey Dales provides solution for WNBA officiating
Dales shared that the WNBA needs a better system. She defended the referees and questioned the league. She believes that the level of officiating in the WNBA needs to elevate and that referees need to be full-time, salaried employees. She compared the officials with those of NBA. According to her, WNBA also needs a replay center like the NBA.
“The officials aren’t bad people. They don’t want to make bad calls, but in order to have more consistency, you have to invest more. They need more confidence. The players need more confidence in them. And then the messaging, the responsiveness from the league when there are controversial moments. How responsive and how quickly and timely do messages get out to support the players and the referees?” She said (4:37).
Dales went on to say that Clark is one of the most competitive players she has ever seen. She speculated that the officials might be less tolerant of Clark because of her competitiveness and gestures.
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