Ever since Caitlin Clark entered the league, the eyes on the league have grown at a monumental pace. With her incredible shooting range and seemingly impossible passes, anytime she plays, there are millions of emotionally invested fans watching her and her Indiana Fever. Though Caitlin Clark had a historic rookie year, her sophomore year has not been very kind. From multiple injuries to shooting slumps, CC has had to go through it all. What’s surprising about Caitlin’s injuries is her history, or lack thereof, with them. Throughout her rookie year and all four seasons of college basketball, CC did not miss a single game. However, the Fever fans do have a theory regarding her injuries this year….
The fans are pointing fingers at refs for CC’s constant injuries this year. Since her rookie year, Caitlin Clark has been subjected to increased physicality. At one stage of the season, 17% of all flagrant fouls in the league were committed against her. Despite all this, she continued to perform and kept her cool. However, this latest injury seems to have pushed her to the edge, both physically and emotionally.
This was evident by her rare outburst against the refs in the game against the Sun. Clark has usually kept her temper from boiling over throughout all the injuries and all the controversial calls by the refs…but she seemed to have finally lost her cool against the Sun. However, in the midst of all this, a troubling detail about the referee in question appeared.
With all this controversy surrounding the most viral player in question, a 2013 report regarding the WNBA referees is doing the rounds on social media. In this report, there is information backed up by data that the referee in question overlooks fouls to speed up the game. The report also stated that the referee, Michael Price, has a strict no-nonsense approach with star players.
For the Fever vs Suns game, the @WNBA old guard assigned their #1 Crew Chief referee (old guard), Michael Price #39. The 2013 SB Nation article states he had a reputation for overlooking fouls to speed up the game completing along with his no-nonsense approach toward star… pic.twitter.com/PDS5kDyhce
— Jess (@JesseMa75611153) July 16, 2025
With this report coming to light, the fans are understandably upset. They are using this report as proof that proper protection is not being provided to players and that fouls are being overlooked to not disrupt the ‘flow of the game’. With increasing eyeballs on the league, the standard of refereeing is yet to catch up. It will only take one season-ending injury to a superstar player for the bumbling anger towards the refs to spill over…and that will definitely not be good for the league.
Pressure Mounts on the League as Players and Coaches Call Out Officials
Very often in professional sports, some players are classified as soft or have a reputation for complaining too much. Yes, that may even be true in some cases. However, when the whole league is complaining about the same thing, clearly there is something wrong. And that is the case with the refereeing standards in the W.
In recent months, an increasing number of players and coaches have called out the refs for poor decision-making. Sophie Cunningham didn’t mince their words when it came to criticising the refs. After the game against the Connecticut Sun, where she got ejected, she called the refs out for not protecting the stars of the league.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) reacts to the action Tuesday, May 20, 2025, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
However, she isn’t alone in stressing that sentiment. Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has been very vocal about the lack of standards in officiating. She recently made a blunt statement saying, “everybody’s getting better except the officials”. Stressing the lack of calls, she also pointed out that opponents are ‘attacking’ her players and getting away with it.
Even Angel Reese chimed in, making her thoughts on this issue very clear. After the Chicago Sky’s loss against the Minnesota Lynx on July 7, she made sure to speak her mind about the refereeing. She made a strong statement saying, “I don’t give a damn if I get fined because that s— is cheap and I’m tired of this s—.”
The pressure is now on Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to sort this issue out as soon as possible.
The post After Caitlin Clark’s Outburst, 2013 Report on Referee’s Troubling Reputation Goes Viral appeared first on EssentiallySports.