Former American soccer star Megan Rapinoe has heaped praise on Caitlin Clark following the Fever debutante’s confrontation with Skylar Diggins-Smith over the weekend.
Near the end of Indiana’s 92-75 home win over the Storm, Clark was caught by Diggins-Smith, who roused the crowd near the visitors’ bench.
Rapinoe enjoyed the brief melee, discussing the moment with her partner (and former WNBA star) Sue Bird.
“Caitlin is always in the mix,” Rapinoe said on their A Touch More PodcastI like it!
Bird added: “It got a little heated. None of this surprises me. If I were Caitlin, I’d be like, ‘Yeah, whatever. You suck, I’m on my way to my bench.’
Megan Rapinoe praised Caitlin Clark for being ‘in the mix’ early in her WNBA career
Skylar Diggins-Smith was caught colliding with Caitlin Clark late in Sunday’s match
“And if I were the Storm, I’d say, ‘Get the hell out of here.'”
Clark has certainly been the target of her opponents at times this season, such as when Sky’s Chennedy Carter bodychecked her earlier this year.
Bird called last week’s incident “innocent,” though Diggins-Smith was criticized by fans online for the unnecessary promotion of Clark.
One of them wrote: ‘Jealousy breeds hate and it’s sad to see that.’
Another noted: ‘She even dropped her shoulder. Clark keeps everyone on their toes in this league.’
A third added: ‘Diggs might need some time in the gym. Clark walked right through it lol.’
Clark scored 23 points and had nine assists in the game, helping the Fever defeat the Storm.
Clark has been on a roll lately, scoring 20+ points in five of her last six games for the Fever.
After being left off the U.S. women’s basketball roster for the Olympics for controversial reasons, Clark appears poised for an important second half of the season.
She has already broken the league’s rookie assist record and is on a stellar run just ahead of the month-long Olympics.
She has scored 20 points in five of her last six games and is averaging 23.7 points on 47 percent shooting from the field and 11.7 assists in that span.
She will try to keep it up against the Lynx on Saturday.