WNBA Veteran Blasts Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Physical Rookie Treatment Narrative

One of the most persistent narratives around the 2024 WNBA season was that rookie players — specifically Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, along with Chicago Sky icon Angel Reese — were subject to unnecessarily physical treatment by veteran players of the league.

Some believed that the abnormal amount of flagrant fouls Clark was subject to was simply her receiving a traditional welcome into the league from current players. Others were convinced she was getting singled out because the league was reluctant to embrace her star power. Then again, some weren’t convinced Clark faced any more physical treatment than anybody else, rookie or otherwise.

Connecticut Sun guard Natasha Cloud is in this last group of people, which she conveyed during her March 14 appearance on The Pivot.

Former NFL player and sports media personality Ryan Clark said to Cloud, “When Caitlin Clark got to the league, the Angel Reese’s got to the league, and they might have been fouled hard… So how do you feel about the fact that all of a sudden [the narrative] was ‘Oh, it’s too physical, they’re going at them because they’re stars.’ What was your reaction to some of the new viewers… thinking that the WNBA was too rough?”

“We can talk about people getting fouled, I just showed you my tooth getting knocked out, like that has been a part of the game. The game has always been physical,” Cloud said.

“It’s just a part of the game. So there was no targeting, there was no nothing. That narrative that got spun into ‘Oh, the vets hate the rookies, the rookies hate the vets, the vets are going after certain players,’ it’s all b*******,” she continued.

“It gets blown up into, ‘Oh, they’re going after Caitlin Clark. No, we’re just playing one of the best players that’s in this league the way that any other best player, franchise player, is going to get played.”

Cloud does pose a fair point. But it’s hard to imagine Clark’s fanbase will agree with her sentiment.