Caitlin Clark hit in throat during WNBA loose-ball scramble, sparking backlash and game suspension
WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark was hit in the throat during a loose-ball scramble, sparking outrage and a one-game suspension for Alyssa Thomas. Fox News’ Garrett Tenney reports on the ‘absolutely unacceptable’ incident and the coach’s reaction. Political analyst Gianno Caldwell discusses Clark’s immense impact on WNBA viewership, including a $2.2 billion deal, and the role of gender and race in the controversy.
Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh didn’t attempt to hide his frustration with WNBA officials following Monday night’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury.
Marsh was asked how Kamilla Cardoso, a 6-foot-7 center, managed to play 28 minutes, take 15 shots and battle inside throughout the game without attempting a single free throw.
Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh called it a joke after Kamilla Cardoso took 15 shots without a single free throw, adding to growing frustration over WNBA officiating. (Getty Images)
“That was a joke. It’s a f—— joke. It’s a joke,” Marsh said. “How many more games does she need to go without getting a free throw? It makes no sense. Zero sense.”
Cardoso finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in Chicago’s 106-101 loss. She made eight of her 15 field-goal attempts, but never went to the line. The Mercury attempted 40 free throws compared to 25 for the Sky.
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Marsh made clear that he wasn’t blaming the officials for the loss or suggesting Phoenix received 40 undeserved attempts. In fact, he admitted Chicago had been too undisciplined defensively.
“We fouled our asses off today. We could have been more disciplined,” Marsh said. “Not saying the officials made 40 wrong calls or 20 wrong calls, whatever it is. Not saying that at all.”
His complaint centered on Cardoso, who averages nearly 10 field-goal attempts per game but fewer than four free-throw attempts despite operating primarily around the basket. Marsh has raised the issue repeatedly and said last week that “the film doesn’t lie” about the amount of contact Cardoso absorbs.
Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso didn’t attempt a single free throw in the team’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Monday. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Perhaps Marsh is exaggerating when he argues Cardoso should get close to 11 free throws every night. Coaches advocate for their players. That’s part of the job.
But zero?
That’s difficult to explain, particularly in a league that has spent much of the season trying to explain its officiating.
Marsh’s outburst might be dismissed as one frustrated coach defending one of his players if it happened in a vacuum. But it didn’t.
In June, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas drove her fist into Caitlin Clark’s throat during a scramble for a loose ball. The officials didn’t call a foul.
The WNBA reviewed the play the following day, determined Thomas had committed a “non-basketball act,” assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and suspended her for one game.
In other words, the league decided the play was serious enough to warrant an ejection-level penalty and a suspension, but three officials watching it happen in real time didn’t see anything.
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White called the no-call “absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful.”
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas drives her fist into the throat of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark during a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
The WNBA’s decision to punish Thomas after the fact validated White’s criticism. It also raised an obvious question: How does a player get struck in the throat in front of multiple officials without one of them blowing a whistle?
Then, on Sunday, Sophie Cunningham took an elbow to the face from Minnesota Lynx forward Nia Coffey.
Referees called a foul against Cunningham.
Officials reviewed the play but didn’t change the initial call, leaving the foul assessed to Cunningham despite her being the player who took an elbow to the mouth.
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Clark is the biggest draw in the league and Cunningham has become one of its most recognizable and polarizing players. Yet, WNBA officials missed a fist to Clark’s throat and managed to penalize Cunningham for getting hit in the face.
Now Marsh is publicly asking how Cardoso, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, can spend an entire game operating around the basket without earning one free throw.
The league knows officiating has become a problem and major errors involving some of the league’s biggest stars are drawing more attention to the issue.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert devoted a significant portion of her All-Star media availability to the issue, acknowledging that the league “always” needs to improve its officiating.
She said the league reviews every call, non-call and significant non-call, and announced that the WNBA plans to launch a fully centralized replay center in 2027.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed the league’s officiating problem during a press conference. (TNS)
Engelbert said the investment, which will cost tens of millions of dollars, is intended to create more consistency, efficiency and transparency.
That sounds good. It also doesn’t do much for players getting hit in the throat or face in 2026.
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The WNBA hasn’t committed to implementing the NBA’s Last Two Minute reports, which publicly identify correct and incorrect calls in the closing minutes of close games. So, while the league promises more transparency through a replay center next season, it still isn’t prepared to offer the type of public officiating accountability its NBA counterpart already provides.
Replay has its limits, too. Officials reviewed the Cunningham play and still left the foul on the player who got elbowed. The Clark play never even reached an in-game review.
A centralized replay center won’t fix much if officials fail to review obvious contact in the first place, or review it and still get the call wrong.
Marsh wasn’t arguing that officiating cost Chicago the game Monday. White’s complaints didn’t change the result of Indiana’s loss to Phoenix, either. But that’s not the point.
The issue is that coaches, players and fans continue to watch obvious contact treated completely differently from one game to the next.
Heck, sometimes it seems like the rules change from one possession to the next.
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A replay center might help in 2027.
For now, the WNBA has a player punched in the throat with no foul, another called for a foul after taking an elbow to the face and a 6-foot-7 center who couldn’t get to the line once while taking nearly all her shots in the paint.
Marsh called it a “f—— joke.”
At this point, he’s hardly alone.