Caitlin Clark threatens to ‘call the league’ over referee

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark isn’t happy with WNBA officiating. Teammates had to hold back the 23-year-old phenom as she threatened to call the league office to complain about a referee during Tuesday’s 85-77 win over the Connecticut Sun in Boston.

The incident occurred in the third quarter as Clark prepared to inbound a pass. A referee quickly took the ball away from her to allow for a Sun challenge over the previous play. 

“That’s just rude,” Clark appeared to say as she demanded an explanation, according to footage from the ESPN broadcast. “Unbelievable. I’m going to call the league on you.”

Tuesday’s dispute was the latest in a season-long feud between Clark and officials. 

A game between the Fever and Sun last month devolved into a shoving match after Clark was fouled and poked in the eye.

Clark’s coaches and teammates on the Fever weren’t happy with how the referees handled the incident.

“You could tell this was going to happen,” Fever coach Stephanie White said in June. “So they got to get control of it. They got to be better.”

Indiana’s star guard ultimately left Tuesday’s game with 35 seconds remaining after appearing to aggravate a nagging groin injury. 

Her status for Wednesday’s game against the New York Liberty in Brooklyn and the weekend’s All-Star festivities in Indianapolis are unclear. She was listed as questionable on Wednesday’s injury report. 

The Fever canceled shootaround Wednesday morning in Brooklyn, a common practice when a team is playing back-to-back games.

“I think we just take it one step at a time. We’ll get some food, get on the plane and start talking about New York,” White said. “She’s being evaluated, we’ll see where we are with that, and certainly we’ll have another evaluation, probably in conversation in the morning, and see where we are. But, you know, this group has played without her, we’ve at least got experience in that. We know that we have a tough opponent in New York, and we know it’s going to be a challenge no matter what.”

This article is based in part on wire service reports.