For the first time in her basketball career, cracks are starting to show in Caitlin Clark\u2019s facade.<\/p>\n
Dealing with injuries, criticism about her defensive abilities, and a struggling Indiana Fever season so far, Clark has been letting her emotions show.<\/p>\n
Along with getting snippy with the media<\/a>, she got into an intense exchange with head coach Stephanie White<\/a> over the weekend, which led White to briefly bench her superstar.<\/p>\n On Sunday, women\u2019s basketball legends Cheryl Miller and Sue Bird discussed the incident and chastised Clark for letting her emotions get the better of her<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, it\u2019s frustration. And unfortunately, it\u2019s boiling over, and it\u2019s being seen,\u201d Miller said. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to have it behind closed doors, but when it spills over, and when the coach has to basically say, \u2018Hey, you know what, Caitlin? Enough is enough. This is too disruptive. In and out. Take a seat.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had moments like that with coaches,\u201d Bird added. \u201cI think it speaks to relationships. Player-coach relationships. Like, shoutout Brian Agler. You could say anything to that man. And you could keep it moving. And then I had other coaches, where maybe you couldn\u2019t. And you have to learn each other in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you knew the line,\u201d Miller responded to Bird. \u201cYou knew the line. When it becomes disruptive\u2026 Even Kelsey Mitchell kind of chimed in, like, \u2018You need to go stand over here and let us regain the calm in our huddle.\u2019 When it becomes that disruptive for the entire team, somebody has to step in.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Clark and White both spoke to the media on Monday<\/a>, clearing the air and making it clear they were two competitors who both wanted to win<\/a>, and that they couldn\u2019t be more committed to one another. Clark noted that tough conversations are fairly common between players and coaches in these situations; they just don\u2019t always receive the scrutiny this one did. They both also took shots at media narratives<\/a> created by people who aren\u2019t in the huddle and don\u2019t have all the facts.<\/p>\n Whether those comments were directed at Miller and Bird specifically or not, it appears the message has been received.<\/p>\n On Tuesday\u2019s WNBA Showtime on Peacock, Miller took a different tack with Clark, admitting that she needs to give her some grace considering the immense, unprecedented pressure she\u2019s under.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI agree with Caitlin when she said this happens more often than not,\u201d said Miller. \u201cI agree with her on that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe definitely has a microscope on her,\u201d added Bird.<\/p>\n Bird stood by her assessment that Clark still needs to figure out how to channel her frustrations into something positive.<\/p>\n \u201cI think an area of growth for Caitlin is these moments of frustration,\u201d said Bird. \u201cWhen she\u2019s frustrated on the court, when she\u2019s not getting the calls, when she\u2019s getting calls against her. These are areas all players\u2026 when things are going your way, and you\u2019re playing great, this is\u2014yes, of course you win games. I think championship teams, I think great players, they find ways when it\u2019s not going their way. That\u2019s when you know you have like a championship DNA inside of you. When you\u2019re frustrated, and you can find ways.<\/p>\n \u201cSo to me, it\u2019s, it\u2019s more about that, right? Like, how are you going to handle that moment next time?\u201d<\/p>\n Miller wanted to make sure that they all remembered just how much Clark is dealing with at still such a young age.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got to say one thing about Caitlin, and I sometimes I have to remember that she is young,\u201d said Miller. \u201cAnd the amount of pressure that is on this young lady, and she\u2019s coming back from her injuries, and living up to what everybody expects her to be and do and whatnot, can be a little bit overwhelming. So I\u2019m gonna give her some grace.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I\u2019ve been in situations like that before. It\u2019s never played out publicly like this was, but I can understand where she\u2019s coming from a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Bird confirmed that it\u2019s a relatively new phenomenon for women\u2019s basketball players to be subject to the kind of scrutiny Clark is.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, the camera hasn\u2019t been on huddles like the way it is now,\u201d Bird added. \u201cI literally\u2014 we were talking backstage. I have stories on stories about moments like this, but the camera wasn\u2019t on you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time in her basketball career, cracks are starting to show in Caitlin Clark\u2019s facade. 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