​Even a couple of weeks later, Alyssa Thomas’s flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark has sparked uncomfortable conversations about the Fever guard. As coaches, players, and the WNBA rallied to Alyssa Thomas’s defense in the face of social media harassment, critics also began debating the physicality Clark has faced inside the paint. Broadcaster Robin Lundberg weighed in with a straightforward assessment on his YouTube channel after Geno Auriemma, UConn’s coach, offered comments about the WNBA star. “You should be coming to her defense, and players should be coming to her defense,” Lundberg said. “That is part of the point. She didn’t ask for any of this. None of this is about her. And no one will say, ‘That was a deserving suspension, or I hope Caitlin Clark is okay, or leave Clark alone.’ She didn’t ask for this. She didn’t do this, and she stood up and spoke about these things a million times.”
Lundberg continued, “I think you get to the root of it with Geno a little bit there, too, when he’s sort of trying to undercut the impact and influence that Caitlin Clark has had on the league by saying it’s not Tiger or Wemby. Wemby is a crazy player, and he’s a whole different animal. But he’s had nowhere close to the impact that Clark has on the WNBA.” To put Clark’s influence in perspective, NBC Sports noted that in her rookie season she accounted for more than 26 percent of the league’s fiscal activity. From an on-court standpoint, Clark debuted in the league as a generational guard, as the No. 1 draft pick in 2024. Her rapid ascent has made Caitlin Clark the league’s “golden goose,” but it has also created substantial on-court challenges for the Fever guard rooted in the fandom she has generated.
Geno Auriemma himself has acknowledged the possibility that Clark may be facing personal animosities within the league that could lead some to “take a shot at [Clark] unfairly.” He shared that concern in a conversation with Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media Podcast. The Alyssa Thomas incident represents just the latest example of the kinds of obstacles Clark’s teammates, including Sophie Cunningham, say she endures every game.
This is precisely the moment, Lundberg argues, for WNBA coaches and players to take a clear stand in defense of Clark. Caitlin Clark never sought the heightened attention from fans that she now receives, nor did she intend to become the league’s defining figure. Rather, that spotlight is a by-product of her extraordinary play on the court. The broader conversation around Clark’s treatment and the protective role of her peers and leadership in the league underscores a larger issue: how star players are supported and safeguarded off the court while they carry the league’s hopes and revenue expectations.