The Indiana Fever suffered their 13th loss of the 2026 WNBA season on Thursday, but their 91-85 defeat to the Dallas Wings produced plenty of talking points beyond the final score. With the Sophie Cunningham controversy still following the team and Dallas securing a win without Azzi Fudd, the spotlight has now shifted toward Caitlin Clark and WNBA officiating after a physical play involving the Fever star caught the attention of former ESPN host Linda Cohn.

In the game, a sequence where Clark had possession of the ball quickly went viral as she rushed toward the basket after faking her former teammate Odyssey Sims out of the path. A video posted to X showed Sims returned to defend and fouled Clark multiple times, but the official failed to call it.

So Cohn took to X and wrote a reply to the video showing Clark getting fouled, writing, “No end in sight. In fact, it’s getting worse.”

The WNBA has always been a highly physical league, but Cohn’s criticism did not come out of nowhere. Even in the matchup against the Wings, Clark was involved in several physical plays that drew attention. In the second quarter, Paige Bueckers grabbed her arm to stop her from driving toward the basket, but no foul was called. Bueckers appeared to commit a similar foul again before the officials blew the whistle.

Then, in the fourth quarter, Sims grabbed Clark around the waist and brought her to the floor. While some argued the contact warranted a flagrant, the officials ultimately called only a personal foul.

Throughout the season, fans have increasingly questioned how Caitlin Clark is officiated in the WNBA, repeatedly pointing to moments like this as evidence. But the conversation really caught fire on June 24, when Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas made a non-basketball contact with Clark’s neck that went uncalled. Since then, incidents involving Clark have not gone unnoticed.

However, while many fans have pointed to such plays as unfair treatment, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal believes physical play against rising stars is simply part of the game.

“All the greats have to go through what we call rites of passage. She’s a fabulous player, but we’re not giving you anything, ever. You have to earn it,” O’Neal said in a CNBC Sport interview earlier this month. “So for her, she needs to toughen up, take those licks, and show them that, ‘These licks don’t bother me.'”

Yet the physicality has also frustrated Caitlin Clark several times, with the Fever star repeatedly getting into heated verbal exchanges with officials over calls this season. And with the playoffs right around the corner, the scrutiny around how physical play against Clark is handled is only likely to intensify.