After a controversial no-call during a play involving Caitlin Clark Saturday, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White lambasted WNBA referees for their officiating in Fever games this season.
In a rant after the Fever's 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty, White called the officiating "egregious."
New York's Natasha Cloud made contact with Clark during the game's final possession, but referees did not blow the whistle.
"I thought she got fouled. I think it's pretty egregious what's been happening to us the last few games," White said of Clark. "The disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable. So, it's disappointing, you know, that it doens't go both ways, or it hasn't gone both ways."
White also acknowledged the league has a system in place for teams to communicate disagreements with referee decisions but questioned whether the system works.
"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.
"I don't know. I have to go back and watch," Clark said of the call.
During the game, Clark immediately looked to the officials for a foul and quickly began to shout at them when she realized no foul call was forthcoming. Her teammate, Sophie Cunningham, also approached the refs to protest the lack of a whistle.
A replay showed Cloud pushing her shoulder into Clark's the moment the ball came loose. But the referees did not blow the whistle, and the game ended there.
The Fever fell to 2-2 on the season and have been on the wrong end of a number of controversial decisions by officials in their first four games of the season.
The four-time defending national champion Sooners beat Alabama 13-2 in five innings Saturday to win the Norman Super Regional and clinch a berth in the WCWS.
Maybe the Panthers and Stars front offices are smarter than just about everyone else just the way the Lightning and Golden Knights hierarchies once were. Maybe these franchises would even succeed in a level playing field.
