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Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark getting shoved to the ground by Connecticut Sun veteran Marina Mabrey during their June 17 game has reignited a conversation about whether Clark is subject to unnecessarily physical treatment by her peers and opponents in professional basketball.
This conversation has existed since Clark’s rookie 2024 season, where she was constantly getting hit with hard fouls (many of which were ruled as flagrants). And given that it’s still happening one year later, Clark’s fan base is frankly tired of it.
One person who knows Clark better than just about anyone is Lisa Bluder, who was her head coach at the University of Iowa. And during a June 19 interview with TMZ Sports, Bluder sent a strong message about the physicality Clark is forced to deal with.
“I don’t know that [Clark] is being targeted, but I would say she’s getting everybody’s best shot. Just because they think that’s the way they can stop her is by physical dominance over her,” Bluder said. “It’s a part of the WNBA, it’s a part of the rules right now. And if we want that to change, I think we have to change the way the game is called.
“Right now, it’s so physical, I think there needs to be more freedom of movement in our game. Which means, yes, calling more fouls,” Bluder continued when asked about what rule changes the WNBA could institute. “People will adjust. Players will adjust. If we start calling more fouls and emphasize the rules, the players will adjust because they want to be on the floor.”
Bluder later added, “When something egregious happens on the floor, I think that player needs to be tossed, I think they need to be fined. I think their organization needs to be fined.
“I’m not just talking about $1,000, I think it’s got to hurt. I think that’s the only way to change the behavior.”
Bluder is clearly more than ready for her star pupil to stop receiving unnecessarily physical shots.
