Christie Sides, the head coach of the Indiana Fever, does not want Caitlin Clark to receive any more technical fouls for verbally abusing the umpires. Following her team’s seventh loss of the WNBA season, she took a jab at the superstar rookie.
Tuesday, Clark led the Sparks by six points despite scoring 30 points, grabbing five rebounds, and dishing out six assists. Sides took a lot of flak for benching the best scorer in collegiate basketball history during a pivotal Los Angeles second-half run. But the real target of the resentment should be the other Indiana players who failed to step up when their top scorer was sitting out.
In addition to her game-high performance, Clark also picked up the second technical foul of her rookie season.
Sides was specifically asked about the incident after the game. Her answer did not include Clark’s name because it was in direct response to the question about Clark. She chose to speak as a “we” instead of singling out one player.
It was a public condemnation of Clark. And while it might seem that way, it was actually not a slight!
We’re spending too much time talking to the officials. We’ve got to leave that alone. We’ve got to just play our game and let them do their job and not put it in their hands… We shouldn’t get technicals. Let me get the technicals.
A few people reacted negatively to Sides’ remarks. The head coach asserted that she, not her players, ought to be the one to receive technical fouls. However…
By protesting against egregious calls, the 47-year-old has not received any technical fouls, and it is reasonable to draw attention to the disparity between Sides’ statements and actions.
Having said that, the second-year coach merits praise. She followed Clark’s explicit instructions to use a challenge in back-to-back games. The Fever dropped both games.
It’s one thing to suggest that Christie Sides is the issue and ought to be dismissed if things don’t improve. To suggest that Caitlin Clark requires an improved strategy is an additional.
A 1-7 start merits such commentary, true or not.
Even while it may appear from the outside that the head coach is not paying attention to her players, that would not be a true evaluation. Simply put, it hasn’t clicked yet. Plenty of the season remains.
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