'I Probably Overreacted a Little Bit:' Connecticut Sun’s Marina Mabrey Opens Up About Shoving Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark

On June 17, tempers flared between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun. After WNBA star Caitlin Clark pushed Jacy Sheldon away from her, Marina Mabrey stood up for her teammate by shoving Clark to the floor.

The WNBA gave Mabrey a flagrant foul Penalty 2 and the Fever beat the Sun by a final score of 88-71.

During a recent interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Mabrey spoke about the heated incident between her, Clark and Sheldon.

“I thought it only got upgraded to a flagrant 2 because the way the fans reacted to it,” Marina Mabrey said about her shove of Caitlin Clark. “They gave me a tech for it. I don’t care, honestly. I really don’t. Obviously, I’m not trying to hurt anybody. I’m not trying to go after certain players for certain sh–. Me and Caitlin were cool. Me and Caitlin have competed against each other in the playoffs. She threw me into the benches in the quarterfinals. We didn’t go after her for it. She’s competitive, and I was about to get the ball. I get it. Throw me out of bounds. We got back up and kept competing.

“So at the end of the day, it was a play on the ball when she did it. And I probably overreacted a little bit. But my teammate is getting hit, and I’m not okay with that. It wasn’t like, ‘I hate her! Here I go!’ I don’t do stuff like that. Everybody knows that I’ve never done that before.”

Boston Celtics and NBA legend Bob Cousy ripped WNBA players for how they treat Clark, who was the subject of a flagrant foul five times during her rookie season.

Cousy is a huge fan of Clark and doesn’t like that WNBA players foul her hard and say negative things about her.

“She’s had a tremendous impact on that league and their earning potential,” Cousy told The Boston Globe about Clark. “They should be kissing the ground she walks on, not trying to foul her and get her out of the game.”

When Clark suffered a left quad injury on May 24 and missed almost a month, WNBA TV ratings went down more than 50%. Ticket prices and viewership for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game also decreased after she announced she wouldn’t play.

Clark is averaging 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks for the Fever this season while shooting 36.7% from the field, 27.9% from beyond the arc and 82.0% from the free-throw line. She missed the All-Star Game in Indiana.

A two-time All-Star, Clark has only played in 13 games this season. She’s currently out with a right groin injury.

It’s unknown when Clark will play again. She’s currently being listed as day-to-day by the Fever.