The Indiana Fever are currently unsure how long Caitlin Clark will be sidelined after she exited the team's 111-109 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday with a back injury. At the same time, a series of incidents involving Mercury star Alyssa Thomas , including reportedly making contact with Clark using her fist and knee, has sparked debate over how Clark should respond. According to former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, the former No. 1 overall pick should leave the WNBA and play in Europe.
"If I were Caitlin Clark, I would seriously consider going to play overseas somewhere and get the royal treatment and get real money," Esiason said. "She can't go to the Russians – we saw that Brittney Griner got stuck there. But a lot of women play overseas to supplement their income. I know Caitlin makes a lot of money from endorsements, but I think there's a lot of jealousy [in the WNBA]. She's a straight white basketball player, and she is not being treated with any sort of respect."
Whether Clark would leave the WNBA to play elsewhere is a question for another day. But even if that shift materializes in the near future, it won't be wrong to say that the move could affect the WNBA, considering the kind of crowd puller Clark has been. That same concern was recently shared by former NFL RB LeSean "Shady" McCoy, citing Clark's disproportionate physical treatment.
"Man, I'm not gonna overreact over one little incident, but if you keep this stuff, there won't be no WNBA," McCoy said. "What would they do? What would they do if Caitlin Clark said, 'You know what? Today, I'm done with the WNBA.' Where would the WNBA be? It would be over. Man, you know how it goes. When she don't play, attendance drops, viewership drops, money gonna drop."
Esiason's suggestion, meanwhile, came a day after the controversial play went down on Wednesday. With about seven minutes left in the second quarter, Clark drove toward the basket. She tripped over Mercury guard Lexi Held's foot and fell to the floor while multiple players dove for the loose ball. During the scramble, however, TV replays appeared to show Thomas making contact with Clark using her knee around her thigh.
Thomas then extended a closed fist into Clark's neck. However, no foul was called on Thomas, and the play continued. Since then, the play has sparked a debate around Thomas' conduct, with the Fever's head coach, Stephanie White, calling it disrespectful.
"Absolutely disrespectful. We spent all offseason looking at officiating, and I still say the one thing that we keep asking for is consistency," White said. "[Clark] is not called the same way as everybody else is called. The fist in the throat is crazy. It's crazy. It's dangerous. … When you have these things continue to happen time and time and time again, eventually it gets frustrating."
A few possessions later, Clark attempted a three-pointer. Mercury forward Valériane Ayayi, meanwhile, closed out underneath her and was called for a landing-space foul. Officials reviewed whether it should be upgraded to a flagrant foul, but eventually declined. However, Clark grabbed her back after landing.
Initially, the 24-year-old stayed in the game but exited in the third quarter and didn't return because of a back injury. Since then, neither Clark nor Thomas has publicly addressed the incident. However, Indiana is currently monitoring Caitlin Clark's health, considering it's a long season that had just started.
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The post "Play Overseas and Get the Royal Treatment": NFL Legend Urges Caitlin Clark to Leave WNBA After Being Punched and Kneed appeared first on EssentiallySports . Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
