Dave Portnoy is calling for a WNBA official to be fired or suspended for giving Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark a technical foul and warning her for hitting a post on Sunday.
Clark set the league’s rookie season assists record in a 92-75 win over the Seattle Storm, but the postgame discussion centered on the technology and his exchange with referee Tyler Ricks.
“I got a technical foul basically for being mad at myself because I missed a 3,” Clark said after her 23-point, 9-assist performance in the win. “And then I went and hit the backboard, and he told me it was disrespectful to the game of basketball.”
He went on to say that he should thank Ricks for inspiring his remarkable performance in the second half.
Portnoy, a diehard Clark fan who recently bet $100,000 that the Fever would win this year’s WNBA title, was less forgiving. As he wrote on X, Portnoy believes Ricks “should be suspended or fired.”
Portnoy calls for WNBA official to be fired or suspended after giving Clark a technical foul.
A referee told Caitlin Clark she had “disrespected the game” during Sunday’s match
Official Tyler Ricks gave Clark a technical foul for hitting the post after missing a three-pointer.
The President’s loyal army of Stoolies agreed.
“Fired,” one fan wrote on X. “Obviously a lunatic.”
“Fired,” added another. “Publicly.”
One supporter suggested to Portnoy that he should pay any fine Clark was required to pay.
“These refs are soft,” read one comment that was more or less echoed by countless other Stoolies.
The momentum didn’t hurt the Fever, who improved to 11-16 while the Storm fell to 17-10.
Naturally, Portnoy is excited to see the Fever improve, particularly since he bet $100,000 that the team would win a WNBA title this season — and did so when the odds were 100-1.
Portnoy bets $100,000 that Clark’s Indiana Fever will win the WNBA title in 2024
Clark broke Ticha Penicheiro’s record with his 225th assist of the season
That means Portnoy could earn $10 million if the Fever defy the odds and win a league crown.
“This Seattle team, they’re 17-9, they’re one of the best, we’re crushing them!” Portnoy said in a self-filmed video during Sunday’s win over the Fever. “We’re up 20 points, we’re crushing them!”
“I’m telling you, I hope you’re encouraged, the 10 million dollar man, what’s the score, Dave? 87-71,” Portnoy continued. “Now let’s look at the odds of the Indiana Fever winning the championship.”
As of Monday, DraftKings estimated the Fever’s title odds at 35-1.
Currently, the New York Liberty (3/2) with a 23-4 record and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces (17-/10) with a 17-9 record are the favorites.
The Fever have won their last two games and will face the Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream on August 24 and 26.
Indiana is currently seventh in the league and third in the Eastern Conference.
“I think I could have done a better job of getting my cool back, but that’s the fire and passion that drives me,” Clark continued. “It’s just about finding a way to channel it, utilize it, and I think I did a really good job at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth.”
Clark now has five technical fouls this season, leaving her two Ts away from an automatic one-game suspension.
