The act of frustrating Caitlin Clark is something Jacy Sheldon has been committed to for a long time, whether it was during her time with the Dallas Wings or now with the Sun, or even back in college. So she does whatever she can do on the court to limit Clark, and sometimes, that goes a bit too far… Sure, the Fever were expecting high levels of physicality from the Sun coming into their most recent matchup—Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup showdown—but no one imagined their beef would take one step further.

With 9:13 remaining in the second quarter of the game, Sheldon was seen saying something to Clark, who had no interest in it. So the latter gave Sheldon a little push away from her, and the situation was quickly de-escalated. The whole incident took place after Clark pointed out Sheldon’s physical defense and was of the opinion that it was worth a foul call. Then, during the third quarter, the Sun player also happened to poke Clark in the eye and received a personal foul. But Fever’s issues with her have been witnessed previously, too. Remember how Sydney Colson and Sophie Cunningham went down in the last game against the Sun?

Both injuries came from contact with the same player. And you already know the answer—Jacy Sheldon, whose signature defense seems to be morphing into reckless physicality. As Rachel DeMita said earlier this month, “Two players on the Indiana Fever got injured last night by the same player on the Connecticut Sun, and that was Jacy Sheldon. I tweeted about it. She was playing so reckless. I’m fine with players playing aggressive, but there is a thin line between playing aggressive and playing reckless.”

So, Clark’s teammate Natasha Howard answered precisely when asked how this team, despite all the physicality thrown at them, stays composed and comes out with wins. “We already knew what Connecticut was going to come out and do it,” she began, then dropped the three-word mantra Indiana seemed to follow all game, maybe subtracting Cunningham’s revenge play, but let’s not pretend Fever fans didn’t love that moment.

“We stayed level-headed,” Howard continued. “And we fought together as a team, and we came up with the victory.” And that’s true. Everyone stayed calm, even when Mabrey (who pushed Clark) wasn’t assessed a technical foul. While crew chief Ashley Gloss later clarified why (the contact by Mabrey did not rise to the level of an ejection or a flagrant 2), the unnecessary nature of the contact seemed so blatant that everyone was furious, including HC Stephanie White. However, once the game was over and staying level-headed had gotten the Fever a crucial win, 88-71, Stephanie White took off that calm cap and didn’t hold back.

“When the officials don’t get control of the ball game… when they allow that stuff to happen and it’s been happening all season long, all season long – it’s not just this game,” White told reporters. After all, for a player like Clark, just returning from injury, this kind of welcome might do more harm. “The game is fast now. Things are happening quickly. Everybody’s getting better except the officials. So we got to find a way to remedy it. I mean, you’ve heard every coach talk about it, so I don’t know what the answer is,” White said, ringing the alarm.

Well, we don’t know how tired she must be of ringing that alarm. She’s been trying to draw attention to this for a long time, not just for the Fever, but for the entire league. Bad officiating does harm, and it’s a symptom of a flawed system.

What the WNBA refs are saying about giving Caitlin Clark a tech!

It was not just Fever fans or Fever players who were angry following the officiating, but the likes of Dave Portnoy, Barstool Sports founder, are also calling for extreme measures. They were not only unhappy with how actions weren’t taken against Mabrey, but also the fact that Clark herself received a technical.

“Imagine not kicking Marina Mabrey out after she assaults the face of the league? Sick league @WNBA. Also shouldn’t have been a tech on Caitlin since that girl got in her face after gouging her eyes,” Portnoy stated. But what did crew chief Ashley Gloss have to say later?

“The contact made by Mabrey did not rise to the level of an ejection,” Gloss said. “Additionally, [it] did not meet the criteria for a flagrant foul penalty two.” Further commenting on why Clark was given a technical, Gloss said, “After the foul by Sheldon, Clark reacted in an unsportsmanlike manner towards Sheldon.” 

Do you think that was fair? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.