WNBA Fines Chicago Fever Rookie Angel Reese And Team For Not Complying With Media – Update
The fallout from the on-court shove of Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark continued today.
The WNBA fined Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese $1,000 for not making herself available to the media in the wake of her team’s 71-70 loss on Saturday. Reese has a base salary of $73,439, buttressed by endorsements.
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The league also fined Reese’s team $5,000 for not complying with the rule.
On Sunday, the WNBA upgraded Chennedy Carter’s initiating foul on Caitlin Clark to a Flagrant 1. The WNBA has a points system to track when players have been called for enough fouls to earn a suspension.
Saturday’s game was the first pro matchup between Reese and Clark, both bitter rivals in college.
Reese leaped off her team’s bench and wildly applauded when teammate Chennedy Carter blindsided Clark, knocking her down to the floor with a hard shoulder check. She was called for a regular foul.
Clark was interviewed by ESPN after the quarter ended and was asked about a conversation she had with the referees.
“Yeah, that’s just not a basketball play,” Clark said. “But you know, I’ve gotta play through it, that’s what basketball is about at this level. I thought we’ve been really physical, we’ve missed some bunnies around the rim, so hopefully those fall in the fourth.”
Carter refused to answer questions about her foul and/or Clark after the game in a media session. “I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions,” she told reporters.
UPDATE: Carter took to Instagram to clap back critics.
“I grew up with all brothers,” she wrote. “All we did is fight and argue. I love the hate more than the love what don’t yall understand. I’d rather you hate me [than] love me and I mean that on my dead aunt.”
An extended view of the game seems to indicate Carter and Clark had words shortly before the first knock down (see video below.)
Later in the Saturday game, Reese herself got in on the Clark action, elbowing her rival and knocking Clark down. She then raced away as an exasperated Clark held out her hands in disbelief that nothing was called.
Clark, the No. 1 draft choice of the WNBA after setting the NCAA’s all-time scoring record, has had a tough introduction to pro basketball.
After a Thursday game against Seattle, she told reporters, “I feel like I’m getting hammered, I don’t know.”
Her team’s GM, Lin Dunn, has called on the WNBA to take a harsher stance against players who target Clark with physical play that goes beyond the rules.
Here's an extended look at the Caitlin Clark – Chennedy Carter incident, there was more to it than the shoulder check and Clark was clearly talking to her on the way back up the floor from the prior basket by Indiana pic.twitter.com/1XG1RyzTw4
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 1, 2024
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