Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever returned from a four-game road trip to host the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday. The highly anticipated showdown got tense around the four-minute mark of the second quarter following a no-call involving Clark and Valkyries center Kiah Stokes.
The three-time All-Star went for a layup and was contested by Stokes. Clark fell after the contact and limped as she got back on defense.
After Clark’s teammate Aliyah Boston was called for a foul on the next play, the superstar point guard let loose on one particular referee.
Caitlin Clark Blasts WNBA Referee After Controversial No-Call During Valkyries-Fever Game
During the play that the Fever phenom complained about, Clark and Stokes’ arms were entangled, and there seemed to be sufficient contact when she jumped for the layup.
Upon getting up, Clark raised her arms to protest at referee Gerda Gatling’s decision not to call a foul on Stokes. On the next play, Stokes missed a 3-pointer, but Clark couldn’t box out Veronica Burton, as she labored to move.
After grabbing the offensive rebound, Burton bumped into Boston, who was immediately called for a foul.
Caitlin Clark appeared to be limping after what she believed should have been called a foul.
After a no-call and visibly upset, Clark was issued a warning by the referee. pic.twitter.com/5xor2qqeOd
— espnW (@espnW) July 16, 2026
The sequence infuriated Clark, prompting her not to hold back on Gatling.
“Give me a [expletive] call. [Expletive]! I got fouled five times,” Clark yelled in Gatling’s face.
Caitlin Clark walks up to a referee and screams directly in their face
“GIVE ME A FU*KING CALL. FU*K. I GOT FOULED FIVE TIMES.” pic.twitter.com/xiBDVadRmA
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) July 16, 2026
To the referee’s credit, she calmly explained to Clark why no foul was called and refused to assess the point guard a technical foul.
Clark briefly left the court after the viral exchange with the referee. She has been on minutes restriction due to a lingering back issue, but did return to finish the game.
This is the second time in roughly three weeks that Clark has complained about Gatling. Following the Fever’s controversial 86-77 win against the Phoenix Mercury on June 22, she called out the official for handing her a technical foul for clapping.
Clark’s explosive second-quarter rant on Wednesday was part of Indiana’s disappointing stretch early on. The Fever scored just 12 points in the period en route to a 40-30 halftime deficit.
Indiana regrouped in the third quarter, outscoring Golden State 21-18. However, the Valkyries ultimately couldn’t be denied behind a balanced attack that saw six players score at least 10 points. The Fever lost their first home game this month while the Valkyries roared to an 88-75 win, their eighth straight.
The Fever’s homestand will continue on Friday when they face the Seattle Storm before going up against the New York Liberty just over 24 hours later.
