Jason Whitlock says Caitlin Clark “made a fool of herself” by failing to control her emotions in the Indiana Fever’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx, and the WNBA star herself admitted she needs to work harder to maintain her composure.
Clark repeatedly clashed with officials during Friday night’s game and at one point, when he thought he was fouled while contesting a rebound, he stayed on the ground rather than stepping back to help defend.
The Lynx defeated Clark and the Fever 99-88, with Clark still scoring 25 points on the night.
Whitlock, who is often complimentary of Clark, wrote on X on Saturday: ‘Caitlin Clark made a fool of herself last night. An embarrassing performance. Her lack of emotional control and excessive focus on arguing with the referees and putting them on the spot caused the Fever to lose their composure and collapse.
‘She has a well-deserved bad reputation with referees. No WNBA player spends that much time complaining and arguing with referees. Last night she took things to another level. She behaved like a spoiled, entitled 12-year-old.
Jason Whitlock criticized Caitlin Clark for her actions in the Indiana Fever’s loss on Friday
“This needs to be fixed and addressed. It’s not an isolated incident. It’s been there all season. It hasn’t been corrected, so it’s getting worse. The Fever won’t reach their potential until Clark grows up.
‘Her lack of emotional control is the biggest obstacle for the Fever. She is the leader of the team and Aaliyah Boston has followed Clark down the path of complaints. This has to stop. The referees, rightly, do not like the Fever.’
Whitlock also shared the clip of Clark lying on the ground after not getting the call he wanted and simply captioned it: “Embarrassing.”
In a separate tweet, Whitlock said: ‘She showed these same tendencies in Iowa.
“The problem is getting worse, not better. I love her, but she’s a spoiled brat and a diva on the court.”
Clark said after the match that he needed to learn to control his emotions when the referee’s decisions went against him.
“I think there’s definitely a limit,” she said. “I was frustrated and thought I was fouled a couple times in the second half on mid-range jumpers. It happens.
Clark admitted he needs to get better at keeping his emotions in check during games.
‘Sometimes they call you, sometimes they don’t. It is what it is. I think I could have done a little bit more work to control my own emotions.
“I think there is a limit and sometimes your passion, your emotion, can get to you, but that is something that I would never change and nobody on our team would ever change.”
Clark, whose Fever team has already clinched a playoff spot, will return to action on Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Dream.