Chicago newspaper blasts Sky, Chennedy Carter for flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark

Late in the third quarter of Saturday's contest, Carter hit a jump shot and pushed the No. 1 overall pick before she could receive an inbounds pass. The play wasn't reviewed and was initially called a common foul.

It was later changed to a Flagrant 1 on Sunday following a league review.

Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon issued a statement on Monday regarding Carter's actions, calling them "not appropriate" and adding that the 25-year-old will use the situation as a learning experience.

The newspaper went significantly further in its criticism, however.

"Even within a sporting context, it was bad: before the ball even was inbounded, Carter came up from behind Clark, shoving her at the hip and knocking her over. Lip readers simultaneously construed a five-letter epithet dancing on the Sky player’s lips. She should have been ejected from the game," the piece read. "Let’s be clear. Clark has done nothing to deserve this other than bringing attention to her sport and playing it superbly well. All of her public pronouncements have been supportive of her sport, her fellow players and her many mentors and idols (Black and white). A large influx of fans are tuning into the sport for the first time, mainly due to the Clark effect (although Sky rookie Angel Reese and some others are drawing notice as well). Sure, players on competing teams have no obligation to go easy on Clark, and you might argue that some jealousy is inevitable, but the Saturday incident went beyond any of that, especially since Carter’s teammate Reese appeared to applaud the foul."

The editorial board argued that if Carter had apologized, people would have been "more sympathetic," but "in fact, she doubled down on social media, effectively deriding Clark as nothing but a 3-point shooter."

"At the news conference after the game, Carter said, in answer to a softball request to explain what happened with Clark, "I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions," as if she were not under any obligation to do so when, in fact, she should have offered an apology," the newspaper wrote. "When at least one reporter asked to speak to Reese and she declined, Reese was fined $1,000 by the league and the Sky was fined an additional $5,000 for violating media availability rules. Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon apologized on Carter’s behalf Monday afternoon. Not before time."