Caitlin Clark’s Coach Blasts ‘Egregious’ WNBA Refs For Bad Calls, ‘Disrespect’

Indiana Fever head coach defends Caitlin Clark

The topic of officiating in the WNBA refuses to go away, in large part because it’s consistently bad. And some around the league, including Caitlin Clark’s head coach, are sick of it. 

Stephanie White, Indiana Fever head coach, spoke out about the referees in the WNBA after a frustrating loss on Saturday afternoon to the New York Liberty.

The game, once again featuring Clark’s signature passing and incredible range from behind the arc, ended in a 90-88 win for the Liberty. But that’s burying the lead. The Fever had the ball against the defending champs and just under three seconds to win or tie. They got the ball into Caitlin Clark’s hands, only to see Natasha Cloud knock it out before she was able to get a shot off. 

With a substantial amount of knocking Clark’s arm involved too.

READ: Caitlin Clark, Fever Lose To New York ‘Equality’ (Errr, Liberty) On Controversial Call

White has clearly had enough.

Does Caitlin Clark get ‘Disrespected’ By WNBA Officiating?

After the game, White was furious about the non-call, going on a rant about how the refs have treated her team.

“I thought she got fouled. I think it’s pretty egregious what’s been happening to us the last few games,” White said about the controversial call on Clark. “The disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable. So, it’s disappointing, you know, that it doesn’t go both ways, or it hasn’t gone both ways.” 

“There’s a system to making sure that we can send stuff in and communicate our grievances, so to speak. I don’t know if I have a feeling that the system works,” she said. 

When asked what she thought about the referees’ call on the final play, White wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know. I have to go back and watch,” she said.

For her part, Clark didn’t give her opinion about it, though her on-court frustration made it pretty obvious.

The Liberty had 32 free throw attempts on Saturday to just 15 for the Fever. The Atlanta Dream had 23 free throw attempts to 15 for the Fever on Thursday. And 32 to 26 on Tuesday. There does seem to be a clear pattern of the Fever’s opposition getting the benefit of more opportunities from the line. And of course, there are plenty of non-calls too.

It seems unrealistic to suggest that the WNBA or its referees would specifically target the Fever, or more specifically, Clark, for poor officiating. But given how the WNBA and its players have treated Clark through her first year-plus in the league, it wouldn’t be surprising. Seems like the Fever are noticing the same things everyone else is.