Efforts by Caitlin Clark to have the media speak to another member of the Indiana Fever led to an awkward moment at a somber post-game media availability after the Fever lost to the Seattle Storm.
Thursday's 89-77 loss was Indiana’s second in a row, according to the Daily Mail.
Clark, teammate Aliyah Boston and coach Christie Sides met the media after the tough loss, during which Clark, accustomed to winning at Indiana, appeared drained.
Boston looked down at the table in front of her as Clark answered question after question.
https://youtu.be/6XeR7rR6h7A?si=gNSpv6xBWuNTZ-Vh
After six questions directed at her and none at anyone else, she stopped the seventh after the words “Caitlin, you …”
"Ask Aliyah a question," Clark said, gesturing toward Boston.
"Nah, I'm good," Boston shot back.
"Ask Aliyah a question," Clark repeated, with an edge to her voice.
One member of the media scrum then complied.
Boston answered the question. The media then shifted their questions to Sides.
Different media outlets interpreted the byplay differently.
Truths About Indiana Fever:
1. CAITLIN CLARK passes the ball; she never gets it back.
2. Christie Sides must be fired--now!
3. They set 1 pick 4 CAITLIN--never works--she dribbles right, gets blitzed by 2 defenders=chaos.
4. Aliyah Boston: lose weight.
5. Teammates can't catch!
— michael haley (@michael45rpms) June 28, 2024
“Clark stood up for Boston,” Athlon Sports wrote.
The Mail, however, framed the incident that Clark was “brutally shut down” by Boston.
Caitlin Clark urges media to ask Aliyah Boston questions in postgame press conference https://t.co/iOuToyVJNP
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 28, 2024
The Los Angeles Times also suggested Clark was trying to do something good, noting, “Perhaps Clark was trying to repay Boston for having her back during a June 19 news conference” when Clark was blaming herself for an errant pass and Boston said Clark did nothing wrong.
Fox News noted that Clark has reached the 300-point milestone faster than any other player in WNBA history.
Sides later said that Clark needs to score even more.
"Caitlin Clark needs to shoot a minimum of 15 shots a game for us," Sides said, according to ESPN. "She's got to get shots, and we've got to do a better job of setting her up, setting some really good screens for her to get her open."
