Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington learned the hard way that you don't mess with Caitlin Clark fans, who view the Indiana Fever star rookie as the only reason to watch the WNBA. And Carrington learned that lesson in her own gym.
It all happened after Carrington fouled Clark when Clark came off a screen from teammate Aliyah Boston. Carrington arrived late and bumped Clark. The ref blew the whistle and Carrington made a motion toward the ref, indicating that Clrk was flopping.
That's a normal reaction for players in both the WNBA and NBA. You question the referee's call by claiming someone else flopped. So nothing over-the-top there by Carrington.
But the home crowd booed her anyway. You don't imitate Clark. She is the very reason the WNBA is suddenly on so many people's radar.
"It's hard to hear on TV, but it was clear from inside the arena that a large section of the crowd didn't care for Carrington mocking Clark, particularly since she clearly fouled the Fever rookie," wrote Dan Zaksheske of Outkick. "Interestingly, the in-arena replay showed the foul, but the replay team elected to cut the video off rather than show Carrington's mocking gesture."
— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) June 10, 2024
Meanwhile, Carrington and the Sun clobbered Clark's young Fever team by an 89-72 count — and Clark and the other Indiana starters were benched by coach Christie Sides for the final 14-plus minutes.
Clark was held to 10 points, two assists and zero rebounds in a career-low 22 minutes.
"I'm gonna start with — you can't, at this level, coach effort," Sides told reporters. "I thought we were just trying to ask them to keep playing hard. You can't start there, you can't play in this league if you have to coach effort. It's just too hard."
