In a moment that has once again ignited national outrage, Caitlin Clark was struck in the face during a heated WNBA game — the second time this month — and fans are asking the same question:

What is the WNBA doing about it?

Apparently, not much.

Another Game. Another Hit. Same Silence?

During the Indiana Fever’s latest matchup, Caitlin Clark took a hard shot to the face while driving into the lane — a blow so intense it left her momentarily stunned on the floor.

Replays show clear contact. Social media erupted instantly. Fans, commentators, and even former players demanded answers.

“This is getting out of hand,” one analyst said.
“You can’t say you’re protecting players while letting this happen.”

But as the clip racked up millions of views online, the WNBA’s official response shocked everyone.

The WNBA’s Statement: Cold, Brief, and Infuriating?

Hours later, the league issued a short statement that left many stunned:

“The play was reviewed and adjudicated in accordance with league protocol. No further disciplinary action will be taken at this time.”

That was it.

No mention of Clark by name.
No condemnation of excessive contact.
No commitment to review the rising number of targeted hits she’s received.

And fans? They weren’t having it.

“They’re Letting Her Get Hunted”

Across TikTok, X, and Instagram, the response was immediate and explosive:

“She gets hit every week and nobody cares.”

“If this was any other rookie, the league would’ve stepped in already.”

“They’re letting her get hunted — and it’s obvious.”

Even retired WNBA stars weighed in, with one tweeting,

“How many hits to the face does one player need to take before it’s considered a problem?”

The incident has sparked renewed accusations that the league is not doing enough to protect its biggest star — a rookie who is not only setting attendance and viewership records, but also carrying the future of the league on her shoulders.

A Pattern Emerging?

Let’s recap. In just her first few weeks in the WNBA, Caitlin Clark has:

Taken multiple hard fouls, including two direct hits to the head

Been pushed to the floor, without calls or ejections

Become the center of online hostility and veiled taunts

Received little visible support or protection from league officials

Many fans are now wondering if this is more than just physical basketball — if there’s an unspoken effort to “humble” her, both on and off the court.

The Bottom Line

Caitlin Clark is a rookie. But she’s also a media magnet, a record-breaker, and the face of the WNBA’s rising visibility. When she gets hit — literally — the world sees it. When the league stays quiet, it speaks volumes.

The latest incident may have only lasted a second on court, but its ripple effects are being felt far beyond the game.

And if the league doesn’t act soon, the next hit might not just hurt Caitlin — it could hurt the WNBA itself

Caitlin Clark Gets a Black Eye Early in Her ‘Frustrating’ WNBA Playoff Debut: a ‘Tough Time’

Clark’s struggles in Game 1 of the playoffs came one day after being unanimously named the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year

Caitlin Clark had a rookie season that will be remembered for ages, but her WNBA playoff debut on Sunday is a game she’d probably like to forget.

The Indiana Fever star, 22, suffered a black eye after she was poked in the eye by the Connecticut Sun’s Dijonai Carrington during a three-point attempt early in the game’s first quarter. Clark then went on to miss 10 of her first 11 shots, finishing the game shooting 2-for-13 from three-point range.

“[Carrington] got me pretty good in the eye; I don’t think it affected me,” Clark said, according to the Associated Press, refusing to blame her relatively lackluster performance on the first quarter incident. “I felt like I got good shots, they just didn’t go down. Tough time for that to happen. I thought I got some really good looks. Three pretty wide open 3s in the first half, you usually make.”

Clark, who was unanimously named the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year on Saturday, scored just 11 points. That’s well below the average 19.2 points per game she put up throughout the regular season, as the Connecticut Sun blew out Indiana 93-69 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three playoff series.

The star rookie only made 23.5% of her shots, compared to the regular season when she made 41.7% of her shots per game.

It was a “frustrating” postseason debut, Clark told reporters after the game.

“My shot felt like it was right there,” Clark said, according to the AP. “It’s so frustrating as a shooter when it won’t go down for you.”

Indiana kept things close during the first half, but Connecticut jumped out to an 11-point lead by the end of the third quarter and ran away with the game in the fourth“We were right there, I felt like we just played a crappy game,” Clark bemoaned afterwards, according to USA Today. “The flow was really bad, I don’t know if that was the reffing, it was probably partly us because we struggled to get stops at times, but also the clock getting messed up, it was just one thing after the next.”

Fans online played living room investigators after the game and questioned whether Dijonai Carrington deliberately poked Clark in the eye, slowing down video on social media and trying to decipher the bang-bang first quarter play.

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Others also drew comparisons to a physical play late in the third quarter when Clark appeared to get a bit of payback, throwing out her left arm and elbowing Carrington in the face while she was guarding Clark. The elbow knocked Carrington’s contact out of her eye and drew a second look from the ESPN broadcast team, as play stopped to allow Carrington to find the lens on the floor.

The two WNBA stars will face off again Wednesday night when Indiana and Connecticut play Game Two of their three-game opening round playoff series