Tiffany Hayes and Caitlin Clark’s feud has gone viral since the Indiana Fever beat the Golden State Valkyries 90-82 on Friday. Hayes and Clark went at each other multiple times in one-on-one situations. The game quickly got physical between them, and the duo had a viral verbal altercation.
A clip with Clark shooting a near 30-foot 3-pointer over Hayes, followed by her trash-talking her counterpart, where the Fever star gestured to make it a duel between them. Clark had the last laugh with the win and better overall performance, scoring 22 points and dishing out nine assists, while Hayes had 19 points and two rebounds.
After the game, a hot-mic moment caught Hayes suggesting the officials were biased in calling fouls against Clark.
“They’re never going to start calling a foul on her. If they did, she would never get to play in the games,” Hayes was heard saying before her post-game media session began.
Here’s the video from Valkyries’ YouTube channel in which Hayes said that, clipped by X user @_girltalk:
Just as the controversy surrounding this died down, Tiffany Hayes made more questionable decisions online on Threads. She engaged with posts seemingly targeting Caitlin Clark and a few even inciting violence, which the Fever star’s fan base spotted on Sunday.
A fan replying to Hayes’ post said they could get their cousins, who will show up if requested:
“Listen. I got some cousins we don’t speak about that will ride at dawn upon request. Just let me know”
Hayes replied to it with a two-word response, saying:
“😂 That’s real”
Here are three other replies Hayes engaged with:
Tiffany Hayes faced immense scrutiny from Caitlin Clark and Fever fans online, with some even calling for the league to investigate this and punish the Valkyries guard.
However, while the fan posts are aggressive, Hayes isn’t forcing the issue or sending out intense replies that could cause trouble. At best, she might be warned by league officials if it blows up and reaches them.
Stephanie White on Caitlin Clark getting chippy with Tiffany Hayes and Co.
Fever coach Stephanie White backed Caitlin Clark after she let her emotions out against Tiffany Hayes and the Valkyries. Clark seemed more fueled after a one-game absence due to a back injury. She channeled her frustration on the court with her play and chippiness. White dropped her two cents on Clark’s intensity on the night, saying:
“I thought she was great. She’s an emotional player and it’s one of the things that makes her great and I thought that she channeled it in a way that needed to be channeled for us to be successful and she handled it well.”
Before trash-talking Hayes, Clark had also gotten into it with Janelle Salaun right before the halftime whistle after they jostled for position to secure a rebound. Clark was unhappy with Salaun shoving her before they could battle for the board and expressed her discontent by swiping at the Valkyries’ player’s arm.
Clark ended the night with a technical and flagrant foul.
