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Why Caitlin Clark’s Scuffle During WNBA Game Has Fans in a Fierce Debate
Speaking to reporters after practice on Monday, June 3, Carter said she had “no regrets” about what went down between her and Clark. “I’m going to compete and play 100 percent hard no matter who it is or who we’re playing,” she explained.
She went on to say she didn’t feel like her play crossed any lines. “There’s no line. I’m competing. I’m gonna compete,” she told reporters. “I’ve already let you know, I’m gonna compete. If you’re going to throw punches first, I’m gonna compete. It’s all love. It’s basketball. This happens in the NBA. Actually, I’m focused on [our game against] New York now. I’m not really focused on that play anymore. It happened, OK? It’s just basketball. It just happened. It’s over. I don’t know why we’re dragging [it out].”
Two days later, Reese addressed the incident while speaking to reporters after practice and pushed back on the idea that Clark is solely responsible for the recent popularity of women’s basketball.
“It all started from the [2023] national championship game,” she said. “I’ve been dealing with this for two years now. And understanding, like, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly, I’ll take that because look where women’s basketball is. People are talking about women’s basketball that you’d never would think would be talking about women’s basketball.”
She added: “People are pulling up to games. We’ve got celebrities coming to games [and] sold-out arenas just because of one single game. And just looking at that, I’ll take that role. I’ll take the bad guy role, and I’ll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates, and I know I’ll go down in history. I’ll look back in 20 years and be like: ‘Yeah, the reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person, it’s because of me too.’ And I want y’all to realize that. Like it’s just not ’cause of one person. A lot of us have done so much for this game. Chennedy has been here before, obviously, but there are so many great players in this league that have deserved this for a really, really long time and luckily, it’s coming now.”
Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon said Carter “got caught up in the heat of the moment in an effort to win the game.”
“She and I have discussed what happened and that it was not appropriate,” Weatherspoon said in a Monday, June 3 statement, “nor is it what we do or who we are.”
