It’s been two days since the Fever-Sun game, but the play from the 3rd quarter of the game is still a hot topic. Fom Jacy Sheldon poking Caitlin Clark’s eyes during the 3rd quarter to Marina Mabrey knocking Clark to the ground and Sophie Cunningham enacting the same play against Sheldon to avenge multiple fouls on Clark, the Fever-Sun game saw it all. And even though Cunningham was ejected from the game, the Fever’s ‘enforcer’ made sure to emphasize one point: if you lay a finger on Caitlin Clark, or any member of the Fever, you’d be laying a finger on Cunningham.

Clark has been a trailblazer for the W over the last two years, but some vets haven’t responded well to the hype that surrounds her. Not to mention, her scouting report had physicality as a major weakness to be exploited. So naturally, they’ve been quite vocal, and quite physical when matching up against the Fever sophomore guard. But the way that it went down in Gainbridge Fieldhouse recently was crossing the line, and even fellow WNBA players Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams think it crossed a line.

While streaming on Twitch, the two Minnesota Lynx veterans ended up reacting to the scuffle between Caitlin Clark, Jacy Sheldon, and Marina Mabrey. After seeing Mabrey push CC on the floor, they had quite a strong response. “Aye, we would have been crashing out, our team.” Courtney Williams said quite firmly. She went on to add that while no player would tackle her like that, the opposing team might mess with someone like Bridget Carleton, following which the Lynx would go ballistic!

“Courtney, if somebody ever tackled you like that,” Hiedeman said before Williams interrupted, “Nobody would ever tackle me like that!” Hiedeman kept it quite simple. “If that ever happened, you better crash out behind me because I’m crashing out behind you. We can share the same jail cell.” The five-foot-eight guard said, much to the amusement of her streaming partner. 

These comments come right as the Indiana Fever qualified for the Commissioner’s Cup Finals, facing Hiedeman and Williams’ team. Even though Caitlin Clark and her gang have a lot of momentum and energy going their way right now, the Minnesota Lynx are fresh off winning this cup last year. It will definitely be a great game to watch, especially considering the welcome response from the two WNBA vets. 

Tuesday’s situation was quite polarizing, and to see some real-time player insight on it was a welcome sight. The responses so far have been stacked against Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark after she got Sheldon back late in the fourth quarter, so a nuanced response from the two Lynx stars was definitely needed for Indiana. However, their support is not limited just to the words of Stephanie White and the Lynx streamers. Legends from other sports are also taking notice of the scuffle, and standing behind Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever after what happened! 

Poker legend compares Caitlin Clark to Michael Jordan after scuffle with Jacy Sheldon and Marina Mabrey

During the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the game was quite different from what it is right now. We all remember the battles between Michael Jordan’s Bulls team and the Bad Boy Pistons led by Isiah Thomas. Every time MJ went towards the rim, he got knocked down hard. Physicality was the norm back then, and it was hard to call fouls when everyone was doing it. But the Bulls legend ended up with new scratches, cuts, and bruises every time he took the court.

And according to Canadian poker star Daniel Negreanu, six-time World Series champion, this is what’s happening with Caitlin Clark right now. In a recent tweet, he showed his support for the Indiana Fever star, while expressing concern about the hostility that she is shown in the league. 

“This @CaitlinClark22 is tough as nails,” He said on X. “Reminds me of Jordan getting hammered by the Bad Boy Pistons. Having said that, it’s truly astonishing how much disrespect she is shown game in and game out from those that should be thankful she has helped get eyeballs on the sport.” 

To be fair, he does have a point. The physicality that the W has shown against Caitlin Clark during her time in the league has been borderline excessive, but the Indiana Fever hasn’t complained at all thus far. With how CC heralded the economic growth of the league, she doesn’t get the credit she deserves. 

It will be interesting to see how the Indiana Fever star deals with the pressure, the physicality, and the disrespect that she gets from many parts of the league. How she deals with this adversity is bound to shape the rest of her career moving forward, and we’re sure that a little bit of rough play won’t drown the competitive fire in her eyes!