WNBA Referee Justifies Decision on Caitlin Clark’s Flagrant Foul Against Angel Reese

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was not too happy with the decision to upgrade her viral foul on Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese during their season-opening game on Saturday.

Late in the third quarter of the contest, Reese found herself with some space near the basket after rebounding the ball. The Sky star then proceeded to attack the rim, but the Fever guard—who was nearby—opted to wrap her arms around Reese to stop the offensive play.

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It caused Reese to lose the ball and fall to the floor. The former LSU Tigers star was naturally pissed and tried to confront Clark before they were stopped by Aliyah Boston and the other players on the court.

Clark’s foul was then upgraded to a flagrant foul, much to the Fever playmaker’s dismay.

“Let’s not make it something that it’s not,” Clark said about the foul postgame, per ESPN. “It was just a good play on the basketball. I’m not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that’s up to their discretion. It’s a take foul to put them at the free-throw line. I’ve watched a lot of basketball in my life, that’s exactly what it was. I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious. That’s not the type of player I am.”

Interestingly, WNBA referee Roy Gulbeyan, who was the crew chief for the Fever-Sky game, offered an explanation as to why Caitlin Clark was given a flagrant foul despite her belief that it’s just a common take foul.

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“Okay, the foul on Clark met the criteria for Flagrant Foul 1, for wind up, impact, and follow through for the extension of the left hand to Reese’s back, which is deemed not a legitimate basketball play, and therefore deemed unnecessary contact,” Gulbeyan told Chloe Peterson of Indy Star, per WNBA Communications.

The WNBA referee also shared why Aliyah Boston and Angel Reese were hit with technical fouls after the dustup.

“After the foul, there is a physical taunt technical on Boston and a verbal technical on Reese, which offset,” Gulbeyan added.

For what it’s worth, Reese herself has no issue with the decision to upgrade Clark’s foul and her technical, noting that it was a “basketball play” and the “refs got it right,” so she’s moving on.

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Despite the flagrant, Clark had a spectacular performance in the 93-58 blowout win, finishing with a triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, along with two steals and four blocks. She made history in the process as the fastest player to reach three career triple-doubles, doing so in just 41 games.

Related: WNBA Posts Seven-Word Message After Historic Caitlin Clark Game