Veteran journalist Jason Whitlock has made his stance clear after Caitlin Clark’s July 3 interview about her collision with Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas. Instead of blaming referees, Whitlock insists “the real problem is Stephanie White”—a criticism he says Clark refuses to acknowledge.

Clark told reporters she believed the foul was flagrant and called for better officiating. “First of all, I know what you guys are gonna ask, and I did think it was a flagrant foul, and our reffing just needs to be better,” Clark said, as shared by Forbes Sports reporter Tony East. “Obviously, the refs are in a difficult spot… it’s one of the hardest jobs in the world, in my opinion, is to make calls, and all you do is get yelled at the whole time by everybody.”

Whitlock responded the next day on X, July 4. “Refs miss calls, no different from players missing layups or turning the ball over. Refs a soft target. The league implemented rules (freedom of movement) to make it less physical on Clark and all players. The real problem is Stephanie White. It bothers me Clark won’t address it.” Whitlock replied to Underdog WNBA's repost of Tony East's video.

Whitlock argued that targeting referees was the safe option. Whitlock has argued for weeks that White has been limiting Clark’s minutes without justification. Clark is averaging 30.8 minutes per game this season, down from 35.4 minutes in 2024.

So why has Caitlin Clark played fewer minutes, and why did White bench her mid‑game on June 24? The answer lies in Clark’s ongoing back issues.

The Injury Context Behind Stephanie White's Benching Decision

Since the Fever’s season opener against the Dallas Wings on May 9, Clark has dealt with recurring back pain.

She exited that game for an adjustment, missed the May 20 matchup against the Portland Fire, and later worsened her back again on June 24 after landing awkwardly on Phoenix’s Valériane Ayayi.

Clark left the game in the third quarter with 5:15 left and sat out the June 27 contest against the Los Angeles Sparks, which the Fever won 111-87.

Now, she has confirmed her unavailability for the Las Vegas Aces game on July 5 as well, although she is feeling comfortable now.

"Feeling a lot better," Clark said in that same July 3rd interview. "Excited to get into practice today. Feeling really, really positive about getting back into one of the games at the back-to-back."

Her practice return is encouraging, but it remains unclear which game will mark her comeback.

Do you feel White deserves the criticism for benching Clark? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Koushik Biswas