Strangest, hardest and most painful things Caitlin Clark had to endure as a WNBA rookie

From near suspensions to insults to hits, Caitlin Clark went through it all in her first pro season

Caitlin Clark’s rookie season is officially over.

She and the Indiana Fever were sweep victims of the Connecticut Sun and DiJonai Carrington in a series where Carrington gave the rookie a black eye in Game 1 and Clark had to have an opposing fan removed in Game 2. All the while, she only managed a 35% field goal percentage and just 20% from 3.

But it was hardly the first difficult week Clark had since college. The WNBA has been a punishing environment on multiple layers for the rookie phenom. And as great as her talent to be, she often had to face even greater obstacles and scrutiny due to the transcendent spotlight that was always above her

Here’s a look back at the strangest, hardest and most painful rookie moments that Clark had to experience, all before turning 23:

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever reacts during the second half against the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 10, 2024, in Indianapolis.

Being forced to give a ‘Happy Birthday’ performance

As far as strange or hard moments go, this one actually isn’t even exclusive to Clark. She was simply being indoctrinated into a ritual within the Indiana Fever. Clark had to sing Happy Birthday to Fever teammate Lexie Hull on Sept. 13, which is customary for Fever rookies.

“It’s a tough job,” Clark said.

But Clark, being the only Fever rookie, had to give a solo performance, she told reporters that day. The Fever had three picks in this year’s draft, but their other two picks, Celeste Taylor and Leilani Correa, did not last long with the team. Taylor now plays for Phoenix and Correa is a free agent.

Getting called the ‘B’ word on ESPN

ESPN host Pat McAfee used his nationally televised show on June 3 to refer to Clark as a ‘white b—-’ during a debate over whether she alone was responsible for an influx in popularity of the WNBA and how other veterans were committing questionable fouls against Clark.

“I would like the media people that continue to say, ‘This rookie class, this rookie class, this rookie class.’ Nah, just call it for what it is – there’s one White b—- for the Indiana team who is a superstar,” McAfee said.

McAfee later had to apologize for the comments but has continued to do his show on ESPN airwaves.

Nearly getting suspended over calls she disagreed with

Clark finished the regular season with six technical fouls. If she had accrued one more before the last game of the season, she would have been dealt a one-game suspension, which would have left a dark mark on her otherwise pristine rookie season.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark questions the lack of a foul in the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Indianapolis, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Clark even said she disagreed with more than one of the technical fouls that were called against her during a press conference after a loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sept. 6.

“It stinks because I feel like half of my technicals this year, I got one for that inadvertent contact to the face in the Minnesota game and then two for hitting the stanchion of the basket,” Clark said. “One was a complete accident, and then the other two were just a little frustration with myself. So, I think I could have done a better job keeping my emotions in check, but at the same time, like, … really?”

Clark’s head coach, Christie Sides, insisted Clark had to move on.

Getting a black eye in her first playoff game

The Fever’s Game 1 loss to the Sun on Sunday involved an incident in the first quarter when Carrington stabbed Clark’s eye with her long fingernail.

Carrington struck Clark while trying to block a pass from Clark in the first quarter. Slow-motion footage showed Carrington bending her hand while coming down from the block attempt, pointing her nails in Clark’s face. Even worse for Clark, no foul was called on the play.

Later in the week, Carrington said the poke wasn’t intentional. Clark also said she didn’t think it was intentional when she was asked about it.

To add insult to injury, Carrington has also antagonized Clark and her fans on multiple occasions in the past. On June 13, Carrington made a post on X calling out Clark for not doing more to speak out about people using her name for “racism” and other forms of prejudice, even though the rookie phenom has condemned racism and misogyny in public statements.

“Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts,” Carrington wrote. “We all see the [s—]. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.

Getting left off the US Olympic team

The decision to leave Clark off the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team sparked an uproar of backlash from fans, new and old.

It didn’t cost the team a gold medal in Paris, but it did possibly prevent the team from getting more exposure and visibility during the Games.

Dawn Staley, the head coach of the reigning NCAA women’s basketball champion South Carolina Gamecocks, who beat Clark and Iowa in the final last season, even suggested Clark should have had more consideration.

“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.”

Staley was part of the committee that elected to leave Clark off the team.

Having alleged screenshots of a private conversation leaked by a WNBA legend

WNBA Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes, the first player ever to be drafted by the WNBA, is now a women’s basketball broadcaster and commentator. She has been criticized this season for being overly critical of Clark at times. But her attempted criticisms once ventured close to slander when Swoopes suggested that Clark played five years at Iowa and got an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Swoopes made the comments during an appearance on “Gil’s Arena” podcast in February in an effort to discredit the fact that Clark broke the NCAA all-time scoring record.

Then on Sept. 2, Swoopes posted alleged screenshots of a conversation with a contact named Clark in which she apologized for the statements.

Later that week, Swoopes even had to host an X Spaces event where she explained why she made the false statements about Clark’s career but said she wouldn’t apologize to anyone else but Clark.

Clark and the Fever found a clear rival in the Chicago Sky this past year. Clark’s rivalry with Sky rookie Angel Reese dated back to their college careers before this season. But Clark also got a healthy introduction to Reese’s newest teammates in four games between the two teams this year.

Clark took an infamous illegal hip check from Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter on June 1 when the Sky player charged right into the Fever rookie and knocked her down during a stoppage in play. Clark said after the game that Carter’s hit “was not a basketball play.”

Carter then refused to answer questions about the incident at the postgame press conference but used her social media to repeatedly criticize Clark.

“That’s that on that cause beside 3-point shooting what does she bring to the table man,” Carter wrote in reply to a post about her postgame press conference on Threads.

In August, Sky player Diamond DeShields sent Clark flying and then sliding across the hardwood on a play that was later upgraded to a flagrant-1 foul.

Diamond DeShields of the Chicago Sky runs into and is charged with a flagrant foul against Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena on August 30, 2024, in Chicago. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

After the game, DeShields posted a screenshot of her notifications list on Instagram, which included a string of hate comments from a user. The comments were about a tumor DeShields overcame in 2020.

But Reese also got on this list when she slammed her arm onto Clark’s head while trying to block a layup in a game between the two teams on June 16.

Clark and the Fever can at least take solace in knowing they beat the Sky in three of their four meetings this year.