A renowned WNBA broadcaster and analyst has claimed that the WNBA should change the rules for Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. The analyst also gave the example of the NBA legend Michael Jordan, for whom the league allegedly changed the rules.

WNBA analyst Rachel DeMita was discussing the league's roughness on June 29 when she suggested that the rules should be changed to protect offensive players, with Clark as the main reason for the change.

"You're saying, oh, we need to change the rules because of Caitlin?" DeMita said on X via her show Courtside Club on Tuesday. "Yeah, you do. We see that in every other freaking league. You see that with Michael Jordan. Rules literally change."

DeMita took the example of the legend Michael Jordan. From 1988 to 1990, the Pistons' physical defense frustrated Jordan so thoroughly that the NBA eventually revisited hand-checking rules.

Although the NBA never said that they changed the rule because of a single player, DeMita argued that. She feels that due to a player's popularity, rules can be changed later to benefit the league as a whole.

Clark recently faced two such incidents during a game against the Phoenix Mercury on June 24, prompting DeMita to discuss changing the rules.

The Incidents That Sparked the Rule-Change Debate

During the second quarter with 6:52 left, Clark fell down the paint with the ball, and Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner pounced on Clark to grab the ball.

Thomas then struck Clark in the throat and stepped over her while standing.

The WNBA reviewed it after the game and gave Thomas a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty and a one-game suspension, as reported by ESPN.

In the same quarter, with 6:25 left, Clark went for a three-pointer with Phoenix's Valeriane Ayayi closing Clark out, leaving no space for her to land.

Clark eventually landed on Ayayi's foot; this also affected her back injury, as she immediately held her back while lying on the floor.

These two instances were the ones that DeMita has been talking about ever since this game happened.

"The WNBA has been super physical," DeMita said on June 25 on her Instagram channel, @courtsideclubpod. "We have heard players from the past just talk about the physicality of the WNBA. But as a viewer, as a fan, you're like, 'We don't like this.'"

This sentiment underscores DeMita's argument that rule changes are necessary to protect star players.

Whether the WNBA will change its rules to make them more helpful to offensive players remains an unanswered question. What do you think about the WNBA revising the rules?

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Koushik Biswas