Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark isn’t a fan of WNBA referees, blasting them during a postgame conference for their “ridiculous” technical foul call on her in last night’s game against the Phoenix Mercury.
In her statement, Clark criticized the officials and accused them of being averse to “competitive basketball” following a fiery interaction with a former teammate, WNBA champion DeWanna Bonner.
Clark isn’t the only one who has shared her displeasure with the WNBA’s officials and controversial calls. Last season, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier slammed the league’s commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, accusing her of contributing to the officiating problem.
Caitlin Clark Receives Fifth Technical Foul Of The Season, Blasts ‘Ridiculous’ WNBA Referees
Clark led the Indiana Fever to an 86-77 win over the Phoenix Mercury; however, the victory was marred by an overly physical fourth quarter that led to several technical fouls and an ejection.
Clark and Bonner had choice words for each other after Clark fouled the All-Star in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN. Later, Clark clapped her hands, which an official took as unsportsmanlike conduct and assessed her a technical, her fifth of the season.
“We should all just go on the calendar now and pick a game that I’m gonna be suspended for if I’m gonna get technicals for clapping,” Clark said after calling the move “ridiculous.”
Clark Says She Asked A WNBA Ref About Her Technical Foul, Accused Them Of Being Averse To ‘Competitive Basketball’
🤯 WHAT ON EARTH — Caitlin Clark gets attacked for existing, and refs call a technical foul on her 👀 They all hate her…….
— HeroOfTheDay (@Hero_OfThe_Day) June 23, 2026
The @WNBA is an absolute joke!! 🤡 pic.twitter.com/eWirB0ytA3
Clark revealed in the post-game conference that she asked the official, specifically Gerda Gatling, why she received a technical foul, to which the WNBA official allegedly told her it was due to her instigating.
“I said, ‘OK, then you just don’t love competitive basketball and that’s just facts, that’s just reality,'” Clark added. “So, disappointing from them.”
Clark Believes The WNBA Should Take Her Technical Foul Away
Caitlin Clark calling Alyssa Thomas a bitch after being called for a bogus foul https://t.co/yZBTxsMIiI pic.twitter.com/tL5MJcIOrW
— H U N C H O (@HunchoGambles) June 23, 2026
Clark wasn’t the only one who received technical fouls last night. Her teammate, Myisha Hines-Allen, received two and was booted from the game. The Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas was also assessed a technical for her back-and-forth with Fever players.
Despite the explanation, Clark doesn’t believe she did anything wrong for the officials to have T’d her up. “If any technical should be taken away, it should be that one — if it’s truly for clapping, that’s what they said they gave it to me for,” she said. “It’s just ridiculous. I don’t understand it all.”
Continuing, Clark said that she wouldn’t change her style of play. In fact, she challenged the league to review the call and inform her of their findings.
“I’m going to play with emotion, I’m going to play with passion and if they’re going to give me a technical foul for clapping, then so be it. That’s their choice,” she said. “The league can come back and review that play and I’d love to hear what they say, the reasoning of why I got the technical foul in that situation and why other players on their team didn’t get a technical foul in that situation. If anything, split it. OK, everybody gets a technical foul, that wasn’t how they were handed out. I would love to know.”
Fever Head Coach Stephanie White Speaks About Clark’s Technical Foul
Her crashout was valid, but in her iowa year, rookie szn and 2025, she would 100% take a stepback three and I guaranteed that thing was going in..@CaitlinClark22 Bb, pls just do you.. u are the best at that 🤧 The refs are sucks, stop depending on thatpic.twitter.com/KWAsuv5G8r
— keeraa ❤️🔥 (@after2xx3) June 19, 2026
Clark is known for playing with emotion, and over the last few weeks, her on-court outbursts have been highlighted across social media.
Fever head coach Stephanie White commented on it last night, saying the Iowa alum needs to be “aware” of how her passion can come across in games. “Certainly. I think there are some we can do without,” she said.
“There are natural things that happen, that the energy of the game creates when you do get those, but there are some that we can be a little more in control of. So yes, we’ll continue to remind her, and I think she has to have an awareness,” she added.
Collier Blasts League Commissioner In Scathing Rant
Clark isn’t alone in her feelings about the WNBA’s referees. Last year, Collier blasted Englebert in her post-season exit interview. In her statement, she criticized Englebert and said the WNBA has “the worst leadership in the world.”
“Since I’ve been in the league, you’ve heard the constant concerns about officiating, and it has now reached levels of inconsistency that plague our sport and undermine the integrity in which it operates. Whether the league cares about the health of the players is one thing. But to also not care about the product we put on the floor is truly self-sabotage,” she said.
Collier went on, claiming Englebert dismissed her claims and said only “losers complain about the refs.” The 29-year-old continued, “That’s the mentality driving our league from the top. We go to battle every day to protect a shield that doesn’t value us.”
So, what now? Whether the league responds to Clark’s comments about the officiating remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the spotlight is now firmly on the referees.