WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark, the women’s basketball phenom who has taken the world by storm, created a sea of orange at a Washington arena on Friday night.
The city’s residents and locals from nearby communities in Maryland and Virginia appeared much more keen to don Clark’s orange Indiana Fever jersey when seeing the star athlete play in the US capital on Friday, rather than wear the red and blue of the hometown Washington Mystics.
And when announcers read Clark’s name before the start of the game – which the Fever went on to win in a nailbiter – the crowd roared in support of the basketball star.
“I’m technically a Wizards fan,” said 26-year-old Maryland resident Briana Florez, referring to the local NBA basketball team, “and a Washington fan in general – but tonight, we’re Caitlin Clark fans.”
The cheers of approval of Clark that rocked the arena in Washington on Friday came after a week of speculation and debate about her treatment in games since she entered the league in March.
The much-anticipated prospect has faced tough defensive coverage and strong challenges from fellow players in the months she’s been dribbling on a WNBA court.
Many of Clark’s supporters have pointed to a few especially bruising moves that she has faced, but most noted a foul that was replayed on sports shows for the past week and sparked the nationwide conversation in the US about the player’s tough treatment.
During a game last Saturday, Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter gave Clark a sharp shoulder-check that caused the rookie to fall over and spill onto the ground.
New fans and analysts – many of whom are giving the WNBA a closer look now that it is seeing a sharp rise in popularity – called foul over the past week, but longtime women’s basketball viewers said that these were overreactions.
