INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 22: Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark 22 motions to a referee that a foul was committed by the Connecticut Sun on July 22, 2026, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA JUL 22 Connecticut Sun at Indiana Fever EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon26072225
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 22: Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark 22 motions to a referee that a foul was committed by the Connecticut Sun on July 22, 2026, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA JUL 22 Connecticut Sun at Indiana Fever EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon26072225
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has now received back-to-back technical fouls in the last two games, bringing her total to seven in 27 games this season. While questions are being raised about Clark's playing style, WNBA analyst Rosalina Lee has challenged the call.
On Wednesday, July 22, in the 123-88 victory over the Connecticut Sun, Clark received a technical foul in the third quarter. She received the tech for a dustup with Suns guard Saniya Rivers as they exchanged some words.
"People talk to each other on the court sometimes," Lee said on her YouTube channel on Thursday. "Like, trash talk gets overlooked consistently. I think this one needs to be rescinded. It was soft."
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 22: Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark 22 and Connecticut Sun guard Saniya Rivers 22 exchange words on July 22, 2026, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA JUL 22 Connecticut Sun at Indiana Fever EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon26072222
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 22: Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark 22 and Connecticut Sun guard Saniya Rivers 22 exchange words on July 22, 2026, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA JUL 22 Connecticut Sun at Indiana Fever EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon26072222
Lee's argument in her YT video seems logical, considering the circumstances.
In the third quarter, after Caitlin Clark was fouled by Olivia Nelson-Ododa, her Suns teammates Rivers taunted her by raising her arm, expressing displeasure at the call. Clark responded by reminding her of the score.
"She said she was locking me up, so I said, 'Scoreboard!'" Clark told reporters in the post-game press conference. "The ref didn’t like that."
Assessing a technical for a seemingly non-expletive-laden exchange of words seemed questionable. If Clark receives an 8th tech in the coming games, she will face a one-game suspension.
The 24-year-old Guard has to be careful. The Fever needs her, and she knows that too.
Caitlin Clark vows to play with "balance" as suspension looms
After Caitlin Clark got her sixth technical in the New York Liberty's game, she refused to change her style. However, after her seventh technical, her stance has softened.
“I'm never gonna back down,” Clark said after the Sun game (via The Athletic). "… That intensity and that fire is what makes me, me. But also knowing that my team needs me and finding a good balance of that."
With a 17-10 record, the Fever are the fifth seed in the league. They have won three back-to-back games, and Clark has been a vital part of those wins, including a 45-point game against the Seattle Storm.
Playing with aggression is a part of Clark's game. She has often received technicals for her on-court antics. But playing while worrying about her 8th technical would "hinder" her play, as she acknowledged.
If Clark is suspended, she will be suspended for one game for every two technicals she receives thereafter. It is only a slippery slope for the Fever star if she is not careful.
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Written by
Nandjee Ranjan
Edited by
Yash Kotak