Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, already in the spotlight given her massive following, became the talk of sports after Saturday’s game against the Chicago Sky, as Clark was fouled hard by Sky guard Chennedy Carter, sparking a strong reaction from Clark herself, as well as outcry from both fans and Fever coach Christie Sides.
Matt Barnes, who co-hosts the All The Smoke podcast with fellow former NBA player Stephen Jackson, joined the chorus of voices discussing Clark, only he decided to focus less on Carter’s foul and more on the reaction, or lack thereof in his eyes, of Clark’s teammates to the play.
Barnes, in a post onto his account on Instagram, ripped Clark’s Fever teammates for seemingly not coming to her defense on Saturday—or this season as a whole.
Former NBA Enforcer Matt Barnes
on the abuse that Caitlyn Clark has gone through in her early WNBA career 😳 pic.twitter.com/SJSsDdskbM— Culture Ent. (@culture__ent) June 2, 2024
“So, there’s a hot topic going on right now,” Barnes said. “Caitlin Clark says she got cheap-shotted against the Sky. I mean, throughout the season she’s been getting beat up. Hard screens, elbows, knocked down. It is what it is. She’s not the first. She won’t be the last.”
“My issue and my question is, where the f— are her teammates at? Where y’all at? Where are the rest of the Indiana Fever? I’ve seen a couple girls smirk when she’s got knocked down, half-a– to pick her up. Like, y’all are supposed to protect the asset, protect the star and although this is a team, she’s the star.”
Barnes, as a former enforcer for 14 seasons in the NBA, then went on to say that the Fever should be “ashamed of themselves.”
Barnes is not the only person to suggest the Fever need an enforcer-type on the roster, an opinion that Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green stated in an Instagram post on Saturday—and one that Carter herself seemingly scoffed at.
As Barnes said, the WNBA is going to continue to test Clark. How the Fever respond, especially given Carter’s—and perhaps others’—opinions on Clark, should be of the utmost importance to the franchise moving forward.
