Latest Caitlin Clark WNBA Foul Controversy – Was She Treated Unfairly? with Jason Whitlock

We got to get to this controversy in the WNBA with Caitlin Clark. I've been following your coverage. Jason has been analyzing these clips and what's been happening with her on the fever, like the Zapruder films. And I am here for it. That's why we first booked you. I'm like, I want him to walk me through all of this. So I'm just going to lay out what my producers put together just to get the audience up and running. And then you're going to take it. It's it's so fascinating, your take. And I hope you've convinced me 100 percent. All right. So this all started on Wednesday. Well, it started before Wednesday, but the latest chapter started Wednesday when the league released its 30th anniversary poster. And we're showing it on the screen right now. Caitlin Clark, the league's biggest star, she's responsible for huge ratings, sold out arenas. She's not on it. OK, and there are recent players on it. Like I think Angel Reese is on it. OK, why is she on it? And Caitlin Clark is not on it. That's the question. Some people are suggesting it's because she it's a licensing issue that she like that she hasn't allowed that. But we haven't heard that from the league itself. And it does seem weird to me that the WNBA wouldn't have permission to use Caitlin Clark's image. So we don't know. All right, because it's absolutely baffling. But that wound up not even being the biggest controversy on Wednesday, because in Caitlin's game that night against the Phoenix Mercury, Mercury player Alyssa Thomas lodged her fist into Caitlin's neck in a play where no foul was called during the game. We're showing a still of it right now. I'm not a sports expert, but I mean, it does seem like a foul. Seems like a clear foul. Even I can see that. Now, the WNBA upgraded the play after the fact, because there was all this outrage after the game because nothing had been called. It was like, well, how is that not a foul? So then they upgraded it, which they can do after a game is ended, not just to any foul, but to a flagrant two foul. And Thomas got suspended, but just for one game. So many critics are saying, what's that? And she got fined something like a pittance. I think it was a thousand bucks. And she makes one point two million a year, according to Caitlin's coach, who's going to play a pivotal role in our discussion with Jason here. That was not the only cheap shot by the Mercury that night. You can see on your screen, a Mercury player fouling Clark on a three point attempt, not giving her space to land safely, which I'm told you're supposed to do. People who have played basketball say this is exactly the type of play that can lead to a nasty ankle injury, which is why they often call it as a foul, but not in this case. And there are allegations that it's a pattern when it comes to Caitlin Clark that the league and its refs allow her to get beaten. I mean, physically beaten, not beaten in the sports lingo without calling the fouls because they can't stand her. Pretty much everyone hates Caitlin Clark in this league. She maybe have a couple of friends, but everyone hates her. And, you know, there are real questions about why is it just normal professional jealousy? Is it a race thing? Is it a sexuality thing? Because 74% of the league, according to some reporters are, well, first black, and then some huge portion of them are also gay. Why does it have to be gay? Why are there so many soccer players gay? And why are so many basketball players gay with the women? I'm saying like, I don't I don't get it. Whatever. But in any event, they hate her. Now, Caitlin back to this game in which she got the punch to the throat. She ultimately walked out of the game like before it was over. I think it was third quarter. And they said nothing like the announcers weren't talking about. It was like the biggest player in the league just walked off in the middle of the game. And then they kind of came back up and they were like, oh, it's a back injury. And Jason Whitlock says if you believe that you haven't been paying attention because there is a dynamic that caused Caitlin Clark to walk off of the court that day. And it had, in his opinion, nothing to do with her back. OK, take it away, my friend. So let me there's a bunch of things you said. Let's the closeout play where the woman is contesting Caitlin shot that there was a foul call on that. And Caitlin went to the line and shot three free throws. What they didn't review is whether that was a reckless closeout, which would have required an additional five or free throws. But there is a foul. That's why Caitlin Clark went to the free throw line and three free throws. As it relates to the poster, you covered that pretty well in terms of potential licensing issue. But what is left out of that is like, hey, the WNBA is controlled by this Marxist mindset that, hey, everybody should get something. And, you know, we got to share things equitably, equally, blah, blah, blah. And so Diana Taurasi is widely considered the greatest WNBA player of all time. She's white. She's not on the poster either. And so Caitlin Clark not being on the poster and this is celebrating 30 years of the WNBA and there's old players on there. There's current players on there the whole nine years. The greatest player arguably in WNBA history also isn't on the poster. And so there may have been a licensing issue with Diana Taurasi or it may have just been this stupidity of, hey, you know, let's leave Taurasi. Let's leave Sue Bird's not on there. Let's leave Caitlin off and let's showcase these other people because that's what's equitable. And so that's the lunacy. Instead of doing what's best for business, hey, let's put Caitlin Clark on here. She's got the biggest fan base. They'll be more likely to buy the poster. So those are the first two things I just wanted to add a little clarity to as it relates to the foul on Caitlin Clark, the fist to the neck area. You put it down in slow motion. You put a still photo up and it looks like the worst thing in the world. When you watch it in real time, if you play Caitlin's reaction and how quickly she got up and when she goes back down court and you look at her and look at her facial expressions and body movement, this thing's being exaggerated. And I'll make a very provocative analogy. It's being exaggerated the same way Derek Chauvin on top of George Floyd, greatly exaggerated. Derek Chauvin weighed 150 pounds. It had nothing to do with George Floyd dying. Now, Alyssa Thomas, the player that did do that. She's a bona fide thug. There's no quid. There's all kinds of video throughout her career of her being ridiculously physical with her opponents, whether black or white. She's a rugby. She does seem like a bona fide thug. Just my own research. I know nothing about the WNBA, but just my own research showed like three examples where team coaches were going jihad on her, like what the F with this player who's actively hurting multiple women in the WNBA. She's got a foul on Angel Reese that's much worse than the Caitlin Clark foul, just just for clarity. But she's a thug. She's a rugby player. She's unskilled. Her game is bullying and intimidating everybody. And that's how she gets buckets. And that's how she's an effective player. Uh, the Phoenix Mercury because of Alyssa Thomas, whose wife is on the Phoenix Mercury as well named the Juana Bonner, uh, and the Juana Bonner played briefly last year, uh, for the Indiana fever and left and quit and basically forced her way onto the Phoenix team so she could be with her wife, Alyssa Thomas. Well, they do have a problem with the Indiana fever and they do think that intimidating Caitlin Clark trying to intimidate as a white girl on a team named Lexi whole, they try to intimidate her and they play physical with her. All of this is par for the course for Alyssa Thomas and Juana Bonner and the type of bug ball that they play with everybody in the WNBA. So as it relates to, does Caitlin Clark get treated unfairly in the WNBA? Yes, she did. Her first two years, her rookie year and last year, these players had a real problem with her and they were extra physical with her and the league addressed it this off season, implementing new rules called about freedom of movement. And so the rep, the games are ref completely different and the players for the most part are completely different because they got a new collective bargaining agreement that is paying them six to 10 times more than they were ever making in the WNBA. And so the, the animus around Caitlin Clark has dissipated this season. Other than the Phoenix, she's getting them paid. Yes. And so other than, uh, the Phoenix Mercury, no one has really messed with Caitlin Clark that way. Players that I saw that used to be extra aggressive, aggressive with it. They're now joking with her before the game, even during the game, it's all dissipated, but most people have the old narrative from 24 and 25 and they're applying it to what they just saw here. And they're also ignoring or they're unaware because most people are passive watchers of the WNBA. They see the highlights. They're just not informed. There's a dynamic between Caitlin Clark and her head coach, Stephanie white. They've been at each other's throats now for two years. They don't like she's white too. Stephanie just for the record is a white woman, a white woman who like Caitlin Clark, I'm from Indiana. Stephanie white's one of the greatest high school basketball players in the history of Indiana. Like Caitlin Clark, she went to a home state school Purdue and lifted Purdue up the way that Caitlin Clark lifted Iowa up. Stephanie white led Purdue to a national championship. Then was a first round pick in the WNBA. Didn't have a great WNBA career, but then became a coach in the WNBA and has had some success in the WNBA. She failed as a college coach at Vanderbilt. She's returned to the WNBA, had a little bit of success and previously coached this Alyssa Thomas thug and, and, you know, co-sign that style of basketball. The other thing about Stephanie white, like Caitlin Clark, she came out of college with a long time boyfriend who she married and transitioned while in the WNBA to the alternative lifestyle. And she is now married to Lisa Salters, the ESPN sideline reporter, black woman. And so she's married to a black woman, Lisa Salters. And there are people like me that are following this closely. It's like they want to convert and transition Caitlin Clark. And Stephanie white may be a part of that. They have similar backgrounds, you know, they were cause Stephanie white in her playing days. And even now as a relatively attractive woman, she was an attractive young athlete that had a boyfriend, got married, blah, blah, same Caitlin Clark track, same deal as Caitlin Clark. And they are at odds over style of play. And, and if you really watch what happened Thursday, five minutes into the third quarter, Caitlin Clark had a bad play through the ball turnover, didn't hustle back on defense and gave up an easy layup. Stephanie white hops out of her chair and angrily calls a timeout. The coaches go and huddle. The players are sitting on the bench and there's fans have sent me videos of like, I was in the arena. Here's what happened. You can see it for yourself that Caitlin Clark is sitting on the bench with the other five players that are in the game. And she's planning to go back into the game. Stephanie white eventually comes into the huddle points at the backup point guard, Raven Johnson and replaces Caitlin Clark five minutes into the third quarter. This is like, you don't do this to your best player. You don't do this to virtually any starter. We're only five minutes into the third. Why am I getting pulled out? And Caitlin Clark, you can see by her body language, there's no, uh, there's no her talking to a trainer about my back. There's no informal wincing. She's not holding the bag. She's not like bending over the way we all would. You know, we, everyone's had a little back pain here or there. And when she walked fine. Yes. And when she walks away, it looks like it looks like, but it's not accurate. Two trainers are following her when she walks away. But if, if this is the right video, you'll see the trainers, uh, like the woman with the ponytail, she circles and takes a seat behind the bench. She does not continue to follow Caitlin Clark. So Caitlin Clark, the best player in the league, the biggest draw on the league allegedly has a back injury, but she's getting no attention from the trainers. She's just walking back into the arena. And, and then for the next 12 minutes of real time, not game time, but just real time, the broadcast crew never addresses. Where's Caitlin Clark. She's not on the bench. She's not on the court. They're not. And Megan, you and I know that 12 minutes of TV time might as well be 12 hours. You don't leave some issue unaddressed for 12 minutes and why people they're playing the game. You're giving the, the audience, no explanation. The biggest star, the reason why you're watching the game has disappeared. And we're not telling you that she's disappeared. We're not trying to even attempt to find out why she's disappeared. Someone had clearly told the broadcast team. We don't know why Caitlin Clark has disappeared. We don't want you to address it. And so it wasn't really until the start of the fourth quarter that they came out with this weak explanation of Caitlin Clark won't return it to back injury. And then they show an edited video of Caitlin leaving and, and paint. You can see her grimace. You can't see her grimace. They're just lying. And so the story bottom line for us, like what, so why, what like to me, you're telling me she had a hissy fit and took her ball and went home because she wasn't getting played. Like this is an example of Caitlin behaving like a spoiled brat. Yes, because she is. And most players with her talent are most players with her talent and success and what she did at Iowa. And it has to be coached out of them. And that is where I'll defend Stephanie white to some degree. She's trying to coach the brattiness out of Caitlin Clark. Caitlin loves to, uh, cheerlead on the court. She loves to tell the crowd what to do. And she loves to tell the officials what to do. And this has been going on since high school and college. Uh, her dad would be at Iowa games and they show him on camera telling Caitlin, Hey, shut up. And you know, mind your own business. This is just part of a personality quirk that Caitlin Clark has doesn't make her the worst person in the world. It makes her a person that needs some correction and she's getting it from someone. She doesn't respect Stephanie white there at each other's throats and Caitlin Clark walked up. She'd had enough walked off and, you know, bad explanation. They eventually concoct after 12 minutes of trying to figure out what to say. Uh, but no one wants to talk about that dynamic because they just want to talk about Alyssa Thomas and Caitlin, you know, stabbed her or these hens. Like it's like, okay. 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