As the NBA season has come to a historic end with the New York Knicks winning their first championship in 53 years, the focus of the basketball world has shifted to the WNBA. A wildly competitive start to the season has already seen multiple storylines branch out.
However, one of the most controversial moments came this past week, as Caitlin Clark was subjected to some extremely physical defense, bordering on dirty, which ultimately caused her to miss time with an injury. Now, one NFL veteran believes the onus lies on the media to support the Indiana Fever star.
Caitlin Clark Needs More Supporters in the WNBA
After a sensational start to her career at the collegiate level, Clark made it to the WNBA amid much fanfare. Drafted by the Fever, she won the Rookie of the Year award while leading her team to the playoffs in her first season.
Unfortunately, her sophomore year was cut short by injuries, even as Indiana continued to improve. Returning to the lineup this season, she has been guarded with an extra edge and physicality. That came to a head during a game against the Phoenix Mercury.
As they continued to rough her up, including stepping into her landing zone during jumpers, which ultimately caused her to come out of the game with a back injury, the worst offense came from Alyssa Thomas.
Diving for a loose ball, Thomas appeared to punch Clark directly in the throat. No fouls were called in real time, though after a review, the WNBA opted to suspend the veteran forward. However, the media hasn’t been particularly vocal against Thomas’ actions.
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At least that is what Geoff Schwartz is adamant about. An eight-year veteran in the NFL, Schwartz has taken on the role of sports media analyst pretty quickly and has been vocal about matters extending beyond the league.
On the Clark-Thomas skirmish, he was firmly on the former All-Star’s side. Moreover, his anger stemmed from the lack of support that Clark had found from other, more prominent members of the media covering the WNBA.
“Has anyone outside of Lisa Leslie in the WNBA TV media sphere defended Clark. Or at least discussed how that wasn’t a basketball play? Put any blame on Thomas at all? Just seems like everyone is finding ways to make that play seem normal or making Thomas a victim. Seems odd. Like we all see the video. We’ve all watched ball.”
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Schwartz’s comments may have been linked directly to ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike, who was critical of the suspension, claiming it was a reaction to the optics rather than something egregious on Thomas’ part.
“I’ll add one more thing. I think that largely happened because of the optics. Watching the play live, in real time, I didn’t think much of it because players hit the floor all the time. But once narratives started forming around a freeze-frame image, that changed everything. I do think the league was reacting to the optics of that image.”
At the time, Schwartz immediately fired back on that opinion, claiming, “Wrong. The league made the right call. Chiney has always hated Caitlin and pushes false narratives. This is a PR clean-up for AT, and no one is buying it.”
For the time being, no further action is being taken against either player. However, Clark remains sidelined, missing the Fever’s clash against the Los Angeles Sparks. She is out of the lineup, but with the Fever getting a week-long break before their next match against the Las Vegas Aces, there is a possibility that she’s back on the court by then.
