Before breaking the WNBA's single-season assist record on Friday night, Caitlin Clark was called for her sixth technical foul of the year.
It happened just a few minutes into the game, when Clark slammed Las Vegas guard Tiffany Hayes to the floor while defending. When Clark heard the whistle, she slammed her hand into one of the basket posts, resulting in a technical foul.
Clark has six technical fouls this year and is one away from being suspended. Clark is tied with Mercury guards Diana Taurasi and Kalia Copper for second in the league in technical fouls. Mercury guard Natasha Cloud leads the league with seven and has already been suspended one game this season.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE FOXNEWS.COM
Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark (22) reacts after a play in the first quarter of a game against the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center on Aug. 24, 2024 in Minneapolis. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The Fever have two remaining games to play, against the Dallas Wings and the Washington Mystics. If the officials call a technical foul on Clark in either game, she will be suspended for one game. However, the WNBA's technical foul count resets at the start of the postseason, so Clark will not miss any playoff games. If she is called for a technical foul in either of the two remaining games, Clark could be suspended for the first game of next season.
In his post-game press conference, Clarke criticized the officials who called the fouls on his record-breaking night, and acknowledged that he had tried to appeal past technical fouls but the league had not granted exceptions.
“They can never reverse it,” Clark said. “I think it's just one of the rules of the game, so it's in the rule book, that's the way it is. So I tried to get that last one reversed, and they're not going to reverse it.”
Clark also questioned the validity of previous technical fouls she has received from WNBA officials this year, specifically pointing out her most recent technical foul against the Minnesota Lynx on Sept. 6 and another for hitting a basket support.
WNBA icon Sheryl Swoopes explains false statements made by Caitlin Clark, slams former friend Nancy Lieberman
“It really sucks because I feel like half of my technical fouls this year, I got one against Minnesota for inadvertent contact with my face and two for hitting the basket post,” Clark said. “One was a total accident and the other two were just out of a little frustration with myself. So I feel like I could have controlled my emotions better, but at the same time, it's like … really?”
Fever coach Christy Sides did not question the officials during her press conference, instead placing the blame for the technical foul on Clark.
“We have to make sure we don't let outside factors affect us, especially early in the game,” she said. “We have to deal with those things. They're not perfect, we're not perfect, but I think we wasted time with that frustration. So it's something we're just talking about, we're just working on it. We just can't make those mistakes in the first quarter.”
“We can't let that affect us that much. An umpire is an umpire.”
Caitlin Clark (22) talks with head coach Christy Sides during a game against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Aug. 28, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Justin Castaline/Getty Images)
The technical foul wasn't the only call that went against Clark on a night when she broke the WNBA single-season assist record with 317 in her rookie season, as she broke the record with her fifth assist of the night, finishing with 10 assists for a double-double.
After the game, the referee reduced Clark's assist count to nine because he did not meet the full criteria for receiving an assist.
“She needed a reset. She's passionate, she's competitive. She just needs to move on to the next play,” Said said when asked about Clark's double-double being cancelled on her big night.
Clark isn't just unhappy with the recent fouls she's been called on — she's also unhappy with a recent hit that sent her falling to the floor but was not called for a foul during a 99-88 loss to Minnesota on Sept. 6.
Clark was taken to the floor by Minnesota's Napheesa Collier, whose arm appeared to hit Clark around the head and shoulders as Clark attempted to score in the paint.
Click here to get the FOX News app
The referee did not call a foul on Collier, and Clark lay on the floor with his arms at his sides.
After the match, Clarke said she Being hit by an opposing player But the referee did not blow the whistle.
“I thought we got fouled a couple times in the second half on mid-range jump shots,” Clark said. “That's how it goes. Sometimes you get fouled, sometimes you don't. That's the way it is. I think we relied a little too much on mid-range jump shots, but I thought we got bumped a little bit and, honestly, I was trying to fake shots to get fouled.”
“So I guess I could have controlled my emotions a little better.”
Clarke has had to quickly control her emotions since coming to the WNBA. In a recent game against the rival Chicago Sky, Diamond DeShields sent Clarke flying across the floor for what was later called a flagrant foul.
Diamond DeShields of the Chicago Sky was charged with a flagrant foul after colliding with Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever on Aug. 30, 2024, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Clark was the recipient of an infamous illegal hip check from Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter on June 1. After the game, Clark said, “That hit was not a basketball play.” Sky rookie Angel Reese hit Clark in the head with her arm as he tried to block a pass during a June 16 game.
The hit on Clark became such a problem during the superstar's rookie year that former NBA player Joakim Noah suggested the Fever sign an “enforcer” to protect her from harm.
“If I were the owner of the Indiana Fever, I'd hire a real enforcer to protect her,” Noah told Fox News Digital. “I feel like she's under attack sometimes because she's such a talented person. But at the end of the day, we're in it to win games. So if I was the owner, [of the Indiana Fever]I'm going to have a real enforcer there.”
Follow Fox News Digital X's sports coverageSubscribe Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.
