It seems like Caitlin Clark can’t catch a break at the moment, as she was targeted by rivals Chennedy Carter and Angel Reese following criticism for withdrawing from the WNBA All-Star’s game 3-point contest.
The 22-year-old Fever guard wasn’t directly mentioned in Carter and Reese’s online interaction on social media, just hours before the WNBA All-Star game, Saturday, but Carter implied that she’ll only tune into the high-profile matchup against Team USA‘s women’s Olympic basketball team to watch her Chicago Sky teammate play.
‘watching for barbie and barbie only #WNBAAllStar,’ Carter posted on X.
Reese replied: ‘you should be here but i’m playing for you today CHENDOLL!’
In June, Carter – a guard – knocked Clark over in a thrilling 71-70 loss to the Fever.
Angel Reese’s X post came after she practice before the All-Star game in Phoenix on Saturday
She replied to a post by Chennedy Carter – her Sky teammate- that fired a dig at Caitlin Clark
In June, Clark took a shoulder shot from Carter that was later upgraded to a flagrant foul one
Not only was the foul a Flagrant 1 call but postgame, Clark described the gesture as ‘just not a basketball play.’
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She added: ‘But you know, I’ve gotta play through it, that’s what basketball is about at this level.’
At the time, Carter refused to answer questions related to Clark or the play after the game.
‘I’m a competitor, and I’m going to compete no matter who you are, and no matter who’s in front of me. So that’s just what it was,’ Carter said. ‘Heat of the moment play. We’re getting at it. We’re getting back and forth. It’s basketball. It’s all hoops. After we finish the game, it’s all love.’
Reese was fined $1,000 for failing to make herself available to reporters after that game.
Later in June, Clark said no apology was needed from Carter for her flagrant foul.
Clark & Carter’s rivalry began in the WNBA after Reese became the latter’s teammate this year
Reese and Clark go back to their college days when there was a rivalry between LSU and Iowa
‘People are competitive,’ she said. ‘It is what it is, and she’s having a tremendous season. She’s played great basketball, in my eyes probably in first place for Sixth Player of the Year. … There’s no grudges. There’s nothing like that. It’s a sport. It’s competitive. It’s not going to be nice all the time.’
However, Reese and Clark probably share the most intense WNBA rivalry after the two foes went back and forth at each other in college.
It all started in 2023, when Reese followed Clark around the court in the NCAA title game and made ‘you can’t see me’ gesture by waving her hand in front of her face – a taunt popularized by former wrestler John Cena – before pointing to her ringer finger in reference to a championship ring.
Her actions came under scrutiny, with media outlets and analysts criticizing Reese for poor sportsmanship and others, including the former LSU player herself, pointing to a double standard, because Clark had not received similar backlash for making the ‘you can’t see me’ gesture two games earlier.
Clark later defended Reese from criticism over the gesture. The incident drew attention to the roles of race and gender in the perception of trash talk in sports since Reese is Black and Clark is white.
A year later, Reese’s rivalry with Clark reignited when the former Iowa guard and her teammates defeated LSU in a rematch of the 2023 national championship game at the Elite Eight round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
