Less than two months ago, on May 14, WNBA officials told Sports Illustrated that they were happy with the newly formed officiating task force. While they did admit that it would be “miraculous” to change the physicality that has been present for years, the league thought things were heading in the right direction. However, the Caitlin Clark-Alyssa Thomas incident has once again raised serious questions about officiating, and The Athletic’s Annie Costabile has said that targeted physicality is still being used as a strategy.

“We’ve seen these physical plays that have occurred, and they’re not just occurring to Caitlin Clark either. The targeting that has occurred is like we could reference Olivia Miles too…” Costabile said in the latest episode of No Offseason.

“There was a level of physicality that was being deployed to guard Olivia Miles. And when I say targeting, I’m not saying it in the sense of some evil attempt to take her out. But it’s a tactic that we see in the postseason a lot in the sense of, ‘You’re trying to throw a team star player off their game by just being a little bit more physical with them.”

There is no doubt that the league’s biggest stars attract more defensive attention than everyone else. After all, that’s the price of being an elite scorer. Take Caitlin Clark, for example. The 24-year-old is averaging 21.2 points per game (fourth in the WNBA this season), and if defenders don’t make life uncomfortable for her, she’s more than capable of punishing them.

But the problem arises when that physical defense crosses the line into dangerous plays. On June 24, Clark took a hit to the throat from Alyssa Thomas that officials didn’t call in real time.

Later in the same game, she injured her back after landing awkwardly on a three-point attempt. Phoenix Mercury’s Valeriane Ayayi player stepped into her landing space, causing Clark to fall, and while the referees reviewed it, they didn’t call the play.

However, Costabile believes officials need to stick to the standard they established at the start of the season. After all, Caitlin Clark was assessed a technical foul simply for clapping just one game earlier.

“That’s what (teams) want to see maintained is what started this season, of calling everything as it level set, will make sure that you’re still noticing this type of behavior in a game and stopping it before it becomes a major issue.”

The WNBA called 38.7 fouls per game in the opening 10 days of the 2025 season. That number rose to 44 this year, but as analysts like Costabile have pointed out, the league has struggled to maintain the standard they’ve set for themselves going into this season.