Caitlin Clark Under Fire For Walking Away 'Tech-Free' After Lashing Out At Ref During Heated WNBA Game

Caitlin Clark seems to have reached her limit with WNBA officiating, as she was seen lashing out at the referee during the Indiana Fever's game against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night.

At one point during the incident, she had to be held back by the coach as she appeared visibly heated and seemed ready to escalate the situation further.

The game eventually ended 88-71 in favor of the Fever, although Caitlin Clark didn't see the match through to the end due to what appeared to be a groin injury.

The Indiana Fever's game against the Connecticut Sun may have ended in victory for Caitlin Clark's team, but it came with a dose of drama, with the star guard at the center of it all.

Around the third quarter of the matchup, held at TD Garden in Boston, Clark was seen getting into a heated exchange with referee Michael Price following what appeared to be a controversial call.

At first, the back-and-forth seemed routine, with Price doing most of the talking. However, something he said appeared to strike a nerve, as Clark suddenly became visibly agitated and began moving toward him, seemingly ready to confront him further.

In that moment, one of Fever's staff had to step in and hold Clark back before leading her to return to her seat during the timeout to cool off.

While it remains unclear exactly what Price said, Clark did not receive a technical foul, possibly because the referee had his back turned on Clark when she displayed her intense reaction.

Online, WNBA fans had varying reactions to Clark's outburst, with some claiming the referee "crossed a line."

"I guarantee dude knows he crossed a line with whatever he said to her or she would have gotten a T. Can't wait to find out what he said. She was totally chill until his last comment," a fan remarked.

Another netizen said, "You know he was wrong because I was expecting a tech. He said something nasty or disrespectful."

"Perhaps the referee's decision was incorrect, and he responded in a disrespectful manner. No wonder Caitlin was so furious," one more person wrote.

Amid the show of support for the athlete, some netizens slammed Clark's reaction as "classless behavior" and were surprised that she wasn't issued a tech.

"I'm sure they'll just say that's passion, but let that be anyone else. smh, that's thug behavior. No place in the game for it lol," a user said.

"How is that not a tech? No other player in the league has that ignored," a different individual reacted.

A third person noted, "Caitlin Clark walks away tech-free after lashing out on the ref."

One more critic noted, "Lmaoo Caitlin Clark really gets to do anything lmao like give this b-tch a Tech for talking to you like that REF dumb a-s refs man."

The matchup between the Fever and the Sun ended 85-77, with Clark contributing 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, much of which came in the fourth quarter to help the Fever secure the win.

However, the basketball star seemingly suffered a setback with her groin injury once again, as she was spotted holding the inside of her right thigh after completing a pass to teammate Kelsey Mitchell with less than a minute left on the clock.

A distraught Clark was then forced to leave the game and sit on the Fever bench, placing a towel over her head in frustration.

She had previously missed two weeks of games for the team, from late June to early July, for the same reason, and had only returned during the previous matchup against the Golden State Valkyries.

During the post-match interview, coach Stephanie White updated fans on Clark's injury, as reported by ESPN.

"I think we just take it one step at a time. We'll get some food and get on the plane and start talking about New York," White said about Clark while referencing their upcoming game against the New York Liberty.

At the time, White revealed that Clark is currently being evaluated by the medical team, with further assessments planned to fully determine the extent of the injury. She also expressed confidence that the team can cope without Clark if the medical staff deems the injury to be serious.

"This group has played without her. At least we've got experience in that," White continued. "We know that we have a tough opponent in New York. We know that it's going to be a challenge, no matter what, and we've just got to get locked in and ready to compete."