A recent in-game incident involving Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and fellow All-Star Paige Bueckers drew criticism from WNBA legend Candace Parker toward the referees. The game occurred last Thursday, with the Fever losing to the Wings, 91-85, in another showdown between Bueckers and Clark. As the Fever's Clark had the ball in her hands just before halftime, the Wings' Bueckers, who was guarding her, attempted to foul once, but it went uncalled.
She then grabbed Clark's arm, and the refs finally called a foul. Clark was clearly frustrated and tossed the ball away to another referee or teammate. Bueckers, according to some lip readers, was smiling, gesturing, and telling Clark "calm down," which seemed to upset Clark more as she reacted.
More news: Paige Bueckers Reacts After Leading Wings to WNBA Playoff Spot "I kind of blame the refs a little bit," Parker said on her "Post Moves" podcast, which features Clark's Fever teammate, Aliyah Boston, as the co-host. "It's like if you don't hear a whistle, and obviously Paige was trying to foul. ... She's fouling, and then she fouls again," Parker added.
"At the same time, the refs didn't call the first one." Boston agreed that the refs should've called the first foul attempt on Paige. Parker said she also could see Bueckers' side of the incident, if she was trying to tell Clark to "calm down" during the moment. Both Parker and Boston have clearly been in similar circumstances and could understand that the referees, despite having a tough job, tend to miss calls.
Multiple players and coaches in the league have criticized or spoken up about WNBA referees this season over various calls and non-calls. Clark and her head coach, Stephanie White, are among them. Clark may have come dangerously close to receiving her eighth technical foul in the recent incident with Bueckers, but thankfully for her and the Fever, one wasn't called.
If it had been, she would've faced a one-game suspension with her team still playing for playoff positioning in the regular season. More news: Sky Make Enes Kanter Freedom Announcement After Natasha Cloud Confrontation For more about the WNBA, head over to Newsweek Sports.
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