On Saturday, the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever played a closely contested game that ended in a 71-70 loss for the Sky. While the final score may have been close, the impact of the game went beyond just the outcome on the court.
On Sunday, it was announced that Chennedy Carter’s hard foul on Caitlin Clark during the game had been upgraded to a flagrant-1. The play was initially called a personal foul and was not reviewed during the game. Despite this, players can face suspension or fines for flagrant fouls.
While Carter’s actions were unjustifiable, it appears that Clark may have been instigating with trash talk leading up to the incident. A longer clip of the exchange between the two players reveals that Clark may have been responsible for starting things off with some aggressive words.
In addition to this on-court incident, there were also off-court issues between the two teams. Sky rookie Angel Reese was fined $1,000 for skipping her media interviews after the game, and the Sky organization was also fined for not complying with WNBA media policies. No one from the Sky provided any specific responses regarding Carter’s foul on Clark, with head coach Teresa Weatherspoon simply noting that her team was focused on competition.
Overall, while both teams are no doubt feeling frustrated by their respective losses and disciplinary actions, it seems clear that their rivalry will continue to simmer through at least some of their remaining games this season.
