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ESPN Calls Out WNBA Referees for Multiple Fouls on Caitlin Clark

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Spencer Ostrow | Last updated Jul 13, 2025 2:43 PM ET

Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers faced off for the first time in the WNBA on Sunday, as the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings. While the two teams met back on June 27, Clark was out for that one as she battled a groin injury.

Early in the first quarter, the conversation centered around the physicality Clark has faced in her young WNBA career. With Wings guard JJ Quinerly defending her, Clark took several bumps and holds while trying to navigate a pick-and-roll and drive to the basket on a second possession.

Ryan Ruocco and Rebecca Lobo, who were on the call for ESPN, highlighted the several missed foul calls within just a few minutes.

Broadcast team breaks down every foul defenders are allowed to get away with on Caitlin Clark pic.twitter.com/985PVBvwH8
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) July 13, 2025

Check out a longer clip:

The announcers calling out every single foul that Caitlin deals with during a possession. It’s about damn time. pic.twitter.com/rPr288Ft0C
— ericaf455 (@ericaf455) July 13, 2025

Fever coach Stephanie White has been vocal about opposing defenders getting away with too much against her team. Back in June, when a game against the Connecticut Sun escalated to six technical fouls and three ejections, White didn’t hold back on the referees.

"I think it was pretty obvious that stuff was brewing, right?" White said postgame. "When the officials don't get control of the ballgame, when they allow that stuff to happen, and it's been happening all season long … you've got competitive women who are the best in the world at what they do, and when you allow them to play physical, and you allow these things to happen, they're going to compete, and they're going to have their teammates backs. It's exactly what you expect out of fierce competition. I started talking to the officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was going to happen. You could tell it was going to happen. So they got to get control of it. They got to be better."

While nothing escalated immediately after Quinerly got away with multiple fouls, that’s exactly the kind of thing White has been referring to.

The more officials allow it to happen, the more things brew, and it's more likely that something bigger could occur.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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