{"id":673009,"date":"2026-05-29T22:56:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T22:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/673009\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T22:56:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T22:56:19","slug":"caitlin-clark-can-be-electric-and-exhausting-sometimes-in-the-same-quarter-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/673009\/","title":{"rendered":"Caitlin Clark can be electric and exhausting \u2014 sometimes in the same quarter | Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caitlin Clark<\/a>\u2019s honeymoon was never going to last.<\/p>\n

Any athlete this hyped and this adored always gets a comeuppance. It\u2019s happened to LeBron James. It\u2019s happened to Tiger Woods. It\u2019s happened to Peyton Manning.<\/p>\n

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But Clark\u2019s own actions are accelerating hers. The flopping that even a C-list actor would find cringey. The histrionics over calls and the disrespect toward the refs. The indignation over reasonable questions about the health of a player who missed most of last season with a series of injuries.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s made Clark into the WNBA\u2019s own Rorschach test. Either you think she can do no wrong or you think she\u2019s an entitled brat, and the number of people who don\u2019t hold an opinion seems to be dwindling in what is only her third season.<\/p>\n

Trash talk is fine. Tantrums are not.<\/p>\n

Clark is a transcendent player. No one disputes that. Her logo 3s remain worth the price of admission, and her ability to flip a game in an instant makes the Indiana Fever a must-watch whenever they play. If you want to teach a kid how to be a menace to opponents, have them watch a highlight reel of Clark\u2019s passes.<\/p>\n

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This also isn\u2019t a criticism of Clark\u2019s trash talking or pearl clutching because women athletes dare to have the same competitive fire as male athletes. Player beefs, like Clark\u2019s with Tiffany Hayes<\/a> of the Golden State Valkyries<\/a>, are part of what make sports so entertaining.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the petulance that is turning people off.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s at least one instance every game that Clark acts as if she\u2019s been shot after pushing off someone else or she drops to the court without ever being touched.<\/p>\n

Take the Thursday night’s game at Golden State. Clark was guarding Valkyries forward Cecilia Zandalasini<\/a> as Zandalasini was dribbling toward the basket. If there was any contact, it was minimal, yet Clark fell backward s if she’d been shoved by one of The Avengers.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s also at least one instance every game of Clark berating a referee over a call she didn\u2019t get or one she didn’t think she deserved to get. She doesn\u2019t even need to be playing to get worked up.<\/p>\n

Hating on WNBA referees \u2014 or officials in any sport, for that matter \u2014 might be our national pastime, but there\u2019s a way to do it without oozing condescension. Which is what it is when Clark claps at a ref and tells him or her to open their eyes.<\/p>\n

Clark also got annoyed<\/a> earlier this week with questions about being a late scratch with a back injury<\/a>. Besides it being possible the Fever skirted WNBA rules, Clark\u2019s health is fair game after she missed all but 13 games last season with injuries that were supposedly fine until they weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Fans can be fickle with stars<\/p>\n

Clark is hardly the first superstar to see their shine wear off the more fans get to know them. James has been nicknamed \u201cLeFlop,\u201d and there\u2019s a whole file of memes devoted to the times he\u2019s hunted fouls. There\u2019s a growing chorus of grumbling about the amount of time two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> spends sprawled on the court.<\/p>\n

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Even Victor Wembanyama, who is beloved by pretty much everybody, caught flak for skipping his mandatory media obligations<\/a> after Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

But Clark carries a burden those other athletes don\u2019t have. She is the face of the WNBA and, to a degree, women\u2019s sports. What she does, how she acts, has an impact both on the current league and the players who will be its future. The last thing anyone needs is for kids learning the game these days to think flopping and whining is the way to go.<\/p>\n

Especially because Clark so often is in the wrong.<\/p>\n

Contrary to what the most irrational base of Clark\u2019s fandom believes, she is not being attacked. Opposing players are not going after her because they\u2019re jealous of her. The W is, and always has been, a physical league, and Clark is guarded harder and tighter because she so often has the ball in her hands and because there is no place on the court where she\u2019s not a threat.<\/p>\n

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Besides, Clark is getting calls, more than most players. She’s averaging 6.0 free throw attempts a game this season, ninth-highest in the league, according to teamrankings.com<\/a>. No one else on the Fever is averaging more than 4.9 attempts per game.<\/p>\n

Not every player has to be liked by everybody. But Clark won over the entire country with the way she played. Now she\u2019s at risk of turning people off for the very same reason.<\/p>\n

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour. <\/p>\n

1 \/ 6<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark is back as Fever open season at home against Wings<\/p>\n

The WNBA season tips off as Caitlin Clark returns<\/a> to the court with the Indiana Fever against the Dallas Wings.<\/p>\n

See moments from opening night as one of the league\u2019s brightest stars begins a new season.<\/p>\n

Above, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is introduced Saturday, May 9, 2026, during the first half of the Fever’s season opener game at Gainbridge FIeldhouse in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

(Grace Smith, IndyStar \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

1 \/ 6<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark is back as Fever open season at home against Wings<\/p>\n

The WNBA season tips off as Caitlin Clark returns<\/a> to the court with the Indiana Fever against the Dallas Wings.<\/p>\n

See moments from opening night as one of the league\u2019s brightest stars begins a new season.<\/p>\n

Above, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is introduced Saturday, May 9, 2026, during the first half of the Fever’s season opener game at Gainbridge FIeldhouse in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

(Grace Smith, IndyStar \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

2 \/ 6<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark is back as Fever open season at home against Wings<\/p>\n

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark passes the ball Saturday, May 9, 2026, during the first half of the Fever’s season opener game at Gainbridge FIeldhouse in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

(Grace Smith, IndyStar \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

3 \/ 6<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark is back as Fever open season at home against Wings<\/p>\n

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts to the action Saturday, May 9, 2026, during the first half of the Fever’s season opener game at Gainbridge FIeldhouse in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

(Grace Smith, IndyStar \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

4 \/ 6<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark is back as Fever open season at home against Wings<\/p>\n

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark shoots the ball while Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.<\/p>\n

(Trevor Ruszkowski, Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

5 \/ 6<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark is back as Fever open season at home against Wings<\/p>\n

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark looks to pass around Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd and Dallas Wings guard Aziaha James on Saturday, May 9, 2026, during the first half of the Fever’s season opener game at Gainbridge FIeldhouse in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

(Grace Smith, IndyStar \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)\"\"<\/p>\n

6 \/ 6<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark is back as Fever open season at home against Wings<\/p>\n

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark shoots the ball while Dallas Wings guard Odyssey Sims defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.<\/p>\n

(Trevor Ruszkowski, Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark backlash grows as antics, flopping in WNBA draw scrutiny<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Caitlin Clark\u2019s honeymoon was never going to last. Any athlete this hyped and this adored always gets a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673010,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[1760,41653,4804,3013,6407,99,7631,32090,434],"class_list":["post-673009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-cecilia-zandalasini","tag-golden-state-valkyries","tag-lebron-james","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-sports","tag-tiffany-hayes","tag-victor-wembanyama","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}