With another controversial situation swirling around former Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark after a series of questionable fouls and calls made during the Fever’s 88-71 win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday, her former college head coach spoke up about what the WNBA should do going forward.
Lisa Bluder spoke with TMZ and said she doesn’t believe that opposing WNBA players are targeting Clark with malicious intent, but did say the WNBA can still be proactive in helping to prevent future controversy.
“I think there needs to be more freedom of movement in our game,” Bluder said. “Which means, yes, calling more fouls, which people don’t like, but people will adjust. The players will adjust.”
For many fans, that’s exactly what they’re looking for in this situation: call the fouls on the players who instigated the situation. Because the initial situation between Clark, Jacy Sheldon, and Marina Mabrey wasn’t handled correctly by the officials, the end of the game saw Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham play sheriff, leading to ejections and fines.
“I think that’s the only way to change the behavior,” Bluder said. “And I think what’s gonna happen is more people are gonna enjoy the game.”
Bluder has a point, and it’s not too far from Clark’s, who just wanted to focus on basketball after the incident instead of fielding questions about it.
There’s something to be said about how the WNBA is handling the biggest star it’s ever had. On one hand, they can’t show too much favoritism, but on the other, they have a financial interest in ensuring that she’s on the court playing basketball, not getting into scuffles that lead to undesirable headlines.
If Bluder’s assessment is correct, that Clark’s WNBA opponents are simply giving her their best shot by playing a physical game, then the league’s only response is exactly what she suggested. If players want to toe the rules of the game to take an advantage against the biggest star in the sport, that’s all well and good, but the WNBA is obligated to draw that line and enforce it.
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