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Connecticut Sun star DiJonai Carrington poked Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark in the eye during the WNBA playoffs.
“Dirtbag play” – Caitlin Clark receives black eye from ‘gigantic nails’ poke as Dave Portnoy and fans thrash WNBA officials

Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark was poked in the eye by Connecticut Sun star DiJonai Carrington

Caitlin Clark played the first playoff game of her WNBA career. In a game where her Indiana Fever was pitted against arguably one of the best teams in the league, it was almost a David vs Goliath matchup. The Connecticut Sun did end up handing Clark her first playoff loss. However, the incident that took centerstage among fans was when archrival DiJonai Carrington poked the Rookie of the Year in the eye.

The incident happened in the first quarter of the game when Clark tried to throw an overhead pass to fellow All-Star Aliyah Boston. Carrington, the superstar defender she grew into, tried to knock the ball away. In that move, her right hand landed on Clark’s face. Clark instantly fell down to the floor, clutching her right eye and writhing in pain. Surprisingly, the officials did not blow a whistle, and the Sun continued to grab the rebound from Boston’s miss and throw a pass to Carrington to score on the other end.

 

Then, when Indiana Fever players saw their Rookie of the Year still on the ground, they ran to her assistance. The referees reviewed the replays while the 22-year-old sat on the bench with a visible black eye. However, the officials let the play continue without calling a foul, and the teams quickly resumed action.

Cailin Clark ended up having one of her worst shooting nights as she went 2-13 from three. Her 11 points marked one of the lowest scores in her young WNBA career. She entered the game on a hot shooting streak, with everyone expecting her to keep it going. Instead, a much more experienced squad blew out the Indiana Fever.

Fans lose their minds as no foul was called for Caitlin Clark

Fans, led by Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy, were livid that no foul had been called. They felt that the black eye impeded Caitlin Clark in her quest to win her first playoff game. In fact, the performance was so bad after that foul that it led to the blowout loss.

Portnoy and fans have since called out the league for letting such a play go unpunished. They want the league to get strict on players for sporting long nails during a game of basketball. The game does get physical. Had the injury been more serious, the rookie superstar could have ended her season early, at the least. Fans took to social media to voice their frustrations, examples of which are below;

Caitlin Clark will have two days to rest her eye before she plays her second playoff game. The Indiana Fever will look to figure out ways to play past the stingy Connecticut Sun defense. The rookie will also try to find ways to play well against archrival DiJonai Carrington.