Officiating in the WNBA reached a new low on Tuesday night during the Fever vs Sun game. And it seems like Caitlin Clark has become an easy target for her opponents. Even though the Fever managed to win the game, head coach Stephanie White did not hold back on officiating after Clark received her second technical. “Everybody’s getting better except the officials,” White said.

What makes the situation even more concerning is that White had already flagged her concerns, warning officials in the first quarter about a potential attempt to injure Caitlin Clark. Yet, no preventive action came from the WNBA. “I started talking to the officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was going to happen,” White said. “You could tell it was going to happen. So, they’ve got to get control of it. They’ve got to be better.”

It all began in the third quarter when Jacy Sheldon accidentally poked Caitlin Clark in the eye, earning a Flagrant 1 foul. Clark reacted with a shove, and things quickly escalated! Marina Mabrey pushed Clark from behind, knocking her to the floor, which kickstarted a full-blown scuffle between the Fever and Sun players!

When the incident occurred, commentator Pat Boylan was convinced Marina Mabrey would be ejected for her blatant shove. But surprisingly, no such call was made! That decision didn’t sit well with many, including Rachel DeMita, who called out the WNBA officials. “I’m not even exaggerating, you guys like 15 minutes. 15 minutes… They are watching this play over and over. They are seeing who pushed who, what did Tina Charles do, what did Marina Mabry do, what did JC Sheldon do,” DeMita said on her YouTube channel.

The long delay came from the WNBA’s review process, where refs check multiple replay angles and sometimes consult the league’s replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey. But fans were left scratching their heads, wondering why it took so long just to get it wrong.

Well, the end result was not something many expected. Jacy Sheldon got a flagrant 1, which seemed fair. But what surprised everyone was that Caitlin Clark, Tina Charles, and Marina Mabrey all received technical fouls. Yes, Mabrey’s flagrant-1 was upgraded to flagrant-2, but many believed an ejection was inevitable for the Sun’s guard.

DeMita, for one, was absolutely furious with the call. She was unhappy with the fact that the officials paid no heed to the commentators either. She continued, saying, “Now you guys, I was on live and you could just see the shock in my face. Like I don’t even know—I need to go back and watch my reaction. I was losing it.”

While the officials may have made a mistake during the game by not ejecting Mabrey, they did try to make things right afterward. The league later reviewed the incident and made changes to the original call regarding Mabrey’s technical. Let’s take a look at what they did.

Marina Mabrey’s foul on Caitlin Clark upgraded

According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, Marina Mabrey’s foul on Caitlin Clark was upgraded to a flagrant 2. As per the rules, she will also have to pay a fine. According to Front Office Sports, the fine for a flagrant 2 currently stands at $400. But she wasn’t the only one who would be paying a fine.

Sophie Cunningham, who was hit with a Flagrant 2 and automatically ejected after her scuffle with Jacy Sheldon, has also been fined separately for the hard foul she committed late in the fourth quarter. According to Sports Illustrated, the exact amount of the fine hasn’t been disclosed.

It’s no surprise that teams have been targeting Caitlin Clark. This is not new; this has been happening since day one. But there’s a fine line between playing physical and playing reckless. Playing dirty with the intent to injure is completely unacceptable. Now, this is not to suggest that Mabrey wanted to injure Clark; it’s normal to lose composure during heated moments at times. But it’s time the officials step up and start doing a better job of protecting the athletes.