Shannon Sharpe called out WNBA players and suggested the number of flagrant fouls targeting Caitlin Clark is “not an anomaly”.
Sharpe’s comments come just days after Chicago Sky player Diamond DeShields hit Clark with a flagrant foul and was then pictured smiling as she fell to the floor.
DeShields, who had already committed two fouls against Clark in the game, trucked the rookie into the floor while making no allusions that she was going after the basketball.
The Sky also happened to be in a 27-point hole at that point, making it even more evident that the hard play was intentional and meant to send a message.
“Ocho, 17 percent of the WNBA’s flagrant fouls this season have been committed against Caitlin Clark,” Sharpe told co-host, Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson.
“The Chicago Sky were responsible for 80 percent of the flagrant fouls committed against Clark. But you know what, Ocho? ‘It’s the ‘great white hype. There’s nothing, Shannon. You just want to support that white girl.’ She busting y’all […]…”
Caitlin Clark Is Drawing A Good Percentage Of The Flagrant Fouls
While the sample size is small – flagrant fouls should be rare after all – Sharpe is correct in that Caitlin Clark is a significant recipient of them.
Five out of the 30 flagrant fouls called in the WNBA this season have involved Clark as the victim. That equates to 17%. Of those, four of the five have come from Angel Reese and her Sky teammates.
One of those Sky players, Chennedy Carter, blindsided Clark with a hip-check as she was focused on an inbounds play during a Commissioner’s Cup game earlier this season.
Reese was hit with a flagrant after getting beat by Clark to the hoop in another game and subsequently clubbing her in the head in an attempt to swat the ball away.
Angel Reese takes total swing at Caitlin Clark’s head, gets flagrant foul. They hate Clark because she’s white. Fever have to get an enforcer or Clark’s going to be knocked out for the year on one of these plays: pic.twitter.com/865KEUpLUv
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 16, 2024
Sky forward Michaela Onyenwere was assessed with a flagrant foul after running through her on a three-point attempt.
If the Sky is trying to be the ’90s Detroit Pistons by rattling Caitlin Clark, it isn’t working. The Indiana Fever rookie has owned them this season.
“I get it, but I’m just trying to figure out how 17 percent of the flagrant fouls…Ocho, if unnecessary roughness happened to one player 17 percent of the time, that’s not an anomaly,” Sharpe continued.
“Too many things that are coincidences are not a coincidence. Ocho, if you get five speeding tickets in a year, they ain’t picking on you; you just drive fast,” he quipped. “That’s what that is.”
‘Cornfed Iowa Girl Is Cooking’
Even when they aren’t flagrant fouls, Caitlin Clark seems to be a victim of targeting. And Sharpe is one of the most vocal critics of the ladies acting this way.
Sharpe went apoplectic after Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins-Smith took a blatant cheap shot at Clark following a loss.
Video showed Diggins-Smith, a six-time WNBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist, power walk in Clark’s direction and give her an intentional bump for seemingly no reason.
Speeding up your walk to intentionally make contact with Caitlin Clark is next level petty from Skylar Diggins-Smith pic.twitter.com/LK1zUiW1OC
— Lee Parayno (@leeparayno) August 19, 2024
“Y’all mad because that cornfed Iowa girl busting y’all […]!” Sharpe replied to the incident.
“Y’all said, ‘She’s too weak. She can’t do this.’ She leads the WNBA in assists,” he added. “She’s cooking — let her cook. Let her cook! Let that girl cook!”
Caitlin Clark and the Fever have indeed been cooking. They’ve won six of their last seven games with their star rookie averaging 24.0 points and 8.5 assists per game. The flagrant fouls aren’t working. Maybe they’ll try to stop her by playing better basketball at some point.
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