WNBA Officials Under Fire Over Caitlin Clark Decision After Heated On-Court Altercation

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cole Sullivan | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 9:52 PM ET

Things got chippy right from the start in the Indiana Fever’s home clash against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night—and it all seemed to stem from Fever star Caitlin Clark and a familiar foe, Sun guard Jacy Sheldon.

The tension began in the first half after Clark gave Sheldon a light push. It escalated in the second half when Sheldon made aggressive contact, hitting Clark in the face on a defensive play that resulted in a foul.

As Clark gave Sheldon another quick push in response, Sun forward Marina Mabrey came in and blindsided Clark with a hard shove to the floor, sparking an on-court altercation that required players to be separated.

While many expected Mabrey to be ejected for the shove, including the announcers, officials surprised everyone by handing out matching penalties—Mabrey, Clark, and Tina Charles were assessed technical fouls. Sheldon was hit with a Flagrant 1 foul.

Check it out:

Caitlin Clark, Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey were all assessed technical fouls after this play.

Jacy Sheldon was assessed a Flagrant 1. pic.twitter.com/okfTpJjRS7
— ESPN (@espn) June 18, 2025

WNBA officials instantly caught slack for the decision:

"The WNBA is an embarrassment and none of these refs should EVER be allowed to ref again... Player safety should be the MINIMUM thing required for the job," a fan said.

Someone else added, "The refs in the @WNBA are so god awful, it’s embarrassing they have to put up with them."

Another fan posted, "Giving Caitlin Clark a technical foul for getting hit in the face and shoved to the ground is insane. Was going to say the WNBA needs better refs but NBA refs are just as terrible."

"The WNBA eventually will lose every fan they got right now because of horrible refs, a fan shared.

One more fan commented, "@WNBA refs are an absolute joke. What a clown show! Mabrey should have been ejected. No question."

This isn’t Caitlin Clark’s first technical foul of the season, and she’s known for occasionally letting her emotions get the best of her.

However, WNBA officials have faced increasing criticism this year, and when a decision involves Clark—who is both a fan favorite and the most talked-about player in the sport—it’s bound to draw widespread attention and scrutiny.

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

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