The old joke used to go that a sports fan would go to a fight and a hockey game would break out. In Indianapolis on Tuesday night, fans went to a ladies’ professional wrestling match and a WNBA game broke out.
In what the Associated Press charitably called a “physical game that included three late ejections,” Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever beat the Connecticut Sun 88-71 to secure a spot in the in-season Commissioner’s Cup — albeit after one of the wildest nights in league history.
The 6-5 Fever were ahead of Sun by only seven points with a little over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, 50-43, before Connecticut went without a field goal for over five minutes to trail by 12.
Clark, who scored 20 points and notched six assists, made it a 20-point game with her fourth 3-pointer to make it 84-64 with 6:39 left in the fourth quarter. While the Fever only scored four points in the last six-and-a-half minutes, that was more than enough.
However, the score likely won’t be what most people take away from the game. Instead, the matchup became — yet again — a showcase of the kind of rough play Clark has frequently been met with from other WNBA teams.
In one play during the third quarter, Clark was poked in the eye by Sun guard Jacy Sheldon and, as she backed away, was seemingly shoved to the floor by another Sun guard, Marina Mabrey.
No one has dealt with more undeserved vitriol & cheap shots than Caitlin Clark…
All of this is so unnecessary & stems from pure hatred and jealousy.
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) June 18, 2025
Kick Marina Maybrey outta the league. pic.twitter.com/SHR90jUbJO
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 18, 2025
Has Caitlin Clark been treated unfairly based on her race?
Three technicals were called after the play, and Clark nailed three free throws to take a 58-45 lead for the Fever.
Many on social media argued this was yet another instance of problematic racial dynamics at play in the league, a phenomenon that the satirical Babylon Bee noted in a much-viewed article from last December:
After WNBA’s Caitlin Clark gets hit in the eye by one player (white), she’s hit by a second player (black), and then brutally body-checked by Marina Mabrey (white).
The WNBA is a violent mess. When will they start kicking players out of the league?pic.twitter.com/TsjlOsLoOD
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) June 18, 2025
Caitlin Clark Explains That White Privilege Feels Weirdly Like Getting Beat Up By Giant Black Lesbians https://t.co/ayl7vk7RwU pic.twitter.com/khEpIIfE6Y
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) December 11, 2024
The Fever’s Sophie Cunningham would get back at Sheldon later in the third, leading to the ejection of Cunningham, Sheldon, and Lindsay Allen of the Sun.
Finally a teammate got Caitlin Clark’s back after the assault she’s taken tonight. Sophie Cunningham you are a G. #wnba pic.twitter.com/YABrJPsMO1
— Matthew Barnett (@MatthewBarnett) June 18, 2025
The move came in Clark’s second game back from injury, which led to many remarks on social media — satirically or not — that targeting the league’s meal ticket was an unwise decision both professional and politically.
How the WNBA is welcoming Caitlin Clark back from injury pic.twitter.com/kwJjP8QaNl
— Sports Troller (@SportsTrollerX) June 18, 2025
It’s worth noting, as Fox News did, that Clark and Sheldon have a rivalry that goes back to their college days, when Clark was at Iowa and Sheldon was at Ohio State.
The Fever’s next game is Thursday night against the expansion Golden State Valkyries, who sit at a surprising 5-6 after 11 games.
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