Indiana Fever’s rookie star guard, Caitlin Clark, the savior of the WNBA, has confirmed that she suffered a ruptured eardrum during a game against the New York Liberty.
The incident took place almost three weeks ago when Clark was blindsided by an unexpectedly aggressive screen during the fourth quarter, forcing her to exit the game.
Clark was escorted off the court by trainer Todd Champlin and did not return to play. The Indiana Fever lost the game.
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Clark refrained from detailing her injury in the week following the incident, simply stating, “It’s still a little hard to hear, but I’m all good.”
“With a four-day break between New York on June 2 and the Fever’s next game against Washington on June 7, she never missed time,” the Indy Star reported.
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Caitlin Clark exited last game with ear pain after a hard hit. She then practiced both days — and is cleared for tonight in Washington DC five days later.
“Yeah, I’m good. It’s still a little hard to hear, but it’s all good.”https://t.co/NkPvJopE4U pic.twitter.com/0I3ClqL6uz
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 7, 2024
However, on Friday, Clark finally disclosed her injury while discussing her “Welcome to the W” moment, according to Bleacher Report.
“I’ve been popped on a couple screens, actually ruptured my eardrum in New York on a flex screen,” Clark said pregame. “They’re great screens, I just didn’t hear them, so it’s kind of my own fault.”
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Caitlin Clark on her “Welcome to the W” moment:
“I actually ruptured my ear drum when we were in New York on a tough screen….great screens, I just didn’t hear them. So, it’s kind of my own fault.”
(Q: @3ptCnvrsn) #WNBA pic.twitter.com/XBJFUJ0wZt
— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) June 21, 2024
While Clark may be downplaying her injury with good humor and sportsmanship, her situation raises serious questions about her safety in the WNBA. TGP has reported multiple times about the attacks against Caitlin Clark in her WNBA games since joining the league this year.
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever played Washington, DC, on Wednesday night at home in Indianapolis.
During the game Caitlin Clark was once again assaulted on the court – and once again the flagrant foul was completely ignored by the refs.
This Keeps Happening… Caitlin Clark Gets Assaulted on a Layup and Can’t Get the Foul Call
On Sunday, the anticipated rematch game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fevers turned ugly when Chicago’s Angel Reese delivered a brutal elbow to the savior of the WNBA, Caitlin Clark, during a layup attempt.
This is the second time Caitlin Clark has been assaulted by a player from Chicago Sky.
Chennedy Carter slammed into Clark from behind! Clark had no idea this was coming!
Indiana congressman Jim Banks has had enough. He sent a letter to the WNBA requesting that the league take action.
In a letter addressed to Cathy Engelbert, Commissioner of Women’s National Basketball Association, Banks wrote:
Like many Hoosiers, I have watched in admiration as the Indiana Fever have captivated a national audience following their selection of Caitlin Clark as the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. As a father, it has been heartening to see my three young daughters more excited about and inspired by the WNBA than ever before.
As you know, Clark has shattered on court and viewership records for women’s basketball. Unfortunately, since joining the WNBA, Clark’s exceptionalism has been met with resentment and repeated attacks from fellow players.
During the Fever’s win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday, Chennedy Carter went out of her way to knock Clark to the floor while neither player had the ball. Further, the excessive attack was visibly cheered on and supported by Carter’s teammate Angel Reese.
Indiana is a basketball state. We don’t wince at aggressive defense, but this was not an example of playing “tough”; it was a cheap shot that could have resulted in an injury and should not be tolerated.
While the foul was retroactively upgraded to a flagrant, there appears to be no further punishment for Carter or the Chicago Sky organization beyond fines related to a lack of media appearances after the game.
Every data point shows, when Caitlin Clark plays, more people watch and what they are seeing right now is a league that refuses to hold hostile players accountable and enforce their own rules of sportsmanship.
It is not only a disservice to Clark and the Indiana Fever, it’s a disservice to the millions of young girls who are watching with dreams of playing in the WNBA one day.
In a 2019 interview with The Athletic, you said that one of the “three pillars” you were focused on was the “player experience,” including “health and well-being, wellness, mental health and all that.”
I believe you meant it back then and you have a chance to prove it now.
As such, I request answers to the following questions by next Friday, June 14th, 2024:
- What steps is the WNBA taking to curb excessive physical targeting of specific players?
- Will individual organizations be held responsible for allowing players with histories of violence to physically target their competitors?
- Do you believe that WNBA players repeatedly diminishing the talents of their fellow players is beneficial to the leagues’ overall success?
- Do you believe that it is inspiring to young female athletes to see players like the Indiana’s Caitlin Clark physically targeted for her success?
