Monday was a day of reckoning for Heaven.
Two days after Chennedy Carter’s serious foul on Fever goalkeeper Caitlin Clark – who was upgraded to Flagrant 1 on Sunday following a league review – the Sky were ready to discuss it.
First there was a statement from Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon. An hour later, Carter, Angel Reese and Weatherspoon all spoke to the media at the Sachs Recreation Center — where the Sky practices in Deerfield — with the players speaking first.
“I’m a competitor,” Carter said. “I’m going to compete no matter who you are, no matter who’s in front of me. That’s exactly what (the fault) was. Game in the heat of the moment, we go back and forth. It’s basketball. They’re just hoops. Once the game is over, everything is love.
Carter added that she had “no regrets” for the mistake.
Physicality is nothing new for the WNBA.
After Carter hit Clark, clips of serious fouls suffered by other players over the years began circulating on social media.
Carter’s foul occurred in the third quarter of the Sky’s 71-70 loss to the host Fever on Saturday.
As Aliyah Boston waited to hand the ball to Clark, Carter approached the guard and checked her, causing her to fall to the ground. On the previous play, Carter took an elbow to the head from Clark.
Carter’s foul — initially ruled a common foul away from the ball — has not been reviewed by officials at this time. During the broadcast, Reese could be seen jumping to his feet and clapping in response to Carter’s foul.
On Saturday, Carter chose not to answer questions about the foul and Reese was fined $1,000 for completely ignoring the postgame media. On Monday, Reese said her reaction to the foul was simply to support her teammate.
Although she didn’t answer questions during her post-match interview, Carter took to social media.
“Besides the three-point shot, what does she bring to the table, man,” Carter posted about Clark on Threads in response to another user on Saturday.
On Monday, Carter said comments on social media were part of the competition.
“It’s hoops, as you can see,” Carter said. “Everyone went on social media and told us their opinions. It’s just hoops, it’s all fun. I don’t really take this seriously.
Weatherspoon said the team chose to wait two days before speaking about the foul because it wanted to be “thoughtful” about what it wanted to say. She discussed the foul in detail with Carter, which she said made him realize that “disrespecting the game is not our goal.”
Carter was asked Monday if she felt like her offense crossed a line in any way.
“There’s no line,” Carter said. “I’m competing. If you throw punches first, I’ll compete. Everything is love. It’s basketball. This happens in the NBA.
Reese took responsibility for not speaking to the media after Saturday’s game. She added that she felt there had been a “miscommunication” regarding the timing of her post-match request.
Both players felt like this moment could be galvanizing for the Sky. They also brought up Alyssa Thomas’ foul on Reese — who was called a Flagrant 2 at the moment, leading to an immediate ejection — to reiterate the fact that the league is physical.
The biggest difference between the two fouls, however, is that Thomas committed his during a basketball game and it was immediately investigated by officials. Carter’s was committed before the ball went inbounds and reviewed by the league after the game.
“I don’t think it really makes a difference,” Reese said when asked if the players thought the officials ordering the play precisely at that time would have made a difference. “The part that happened to me was even worse.
“I know (Thomas) is a great basketball player and it was a basketball game. It just depends who it is.
News Source : chicago.suntimes.com
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