The WNBA has ruled no suspensions will be enforced from the scuffle in the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun game, but the foul against Caitlin Clark was upgraded to a Flagrant 2.
Late in the third quarter of the contest, Clark was dribbling around the perimeter when Sun guard Jacy Sheldon made contact with Clark’s face. The Fever star was frustrated and shoved Sheldon. But immediately afterward, Sun forward Marina Mabrey jumped in and pushed Clark down on the floor. It resulted in a mild dustup between both teams on the court.
The officials reviewed the play and ruled a flagrant foul on Sheldon, with double technical fouls assessed to Clark and Connecticut center Tina Charles. Mabrey was charged with a technical foul, which confused the broadcast crew and viewers as the excessive contact was grounds for ejection.
Now, Mabrey’s technical foul has been upgraded to a Flagrant 2, the WNBA confirmed to IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network.
After the game, crew chief Ashley Gloss said in a pool report conducted by IndyStar ‘the contact made by Mabrey did not rise to the level of an ejection. Additionally, (it) did not meet the criteria for a flagrant foul penalty two.’ Clark and Charles were each given technical fouls for acting in an ‘unsportsmanlike manner.’
Had Mabrey’s Flagrant 2 been called in the game, she would have been ejected. She will face the standard fine for Flagrant 2.
Sophie Cunningham faces additional fine
The incident between Clark, Sheldon and Mabrey wasn’t the only incident in the chippy game. In the final minute of the quarter, Sheldon was going for a layup when Fever guard Sophie Cunningham wrapped her arms around her and pulled her to the ground. Sheldon immediately got up and teammate Lindsay Allen joined her in confronting Cunningham. A scuffle broke out between the three players as teammates and security attempted to break up the incident.
The play was reviewed and Cunningham was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected, while Sheldon and Allen were also assessed technical fouls for fighting and were also ejected.
The league added an additional fine to Cunningham on top of the standard Flagrant 2 fine she received.
No players will be suspended as a result of the game’s incidents. Indiana won the contest 88-71 to clinch a spot in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game.