Chicago Sky player Diamond DeShields committed a hard foul on Caitlin Clark that sent the rookie star to the floor Friday night.
During the Fever's 100-81 win over the Sky, DeShields lost her footing and crashed into Clark.
DeShields held her hands up as she knocked into Clark in an attempt to avoid a foul, but it was called anyway due to the impact of the hit. Clark went flying forward across the hardwood. Then DeShields offered to help Clark up. The foul was later upgraded to a flagrant 1.
The clip of the foul drew criticism from many WNBA fans on social media.
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After the game, DeShields posted a screenshot of her notifications list on Instagram, which included a string of hate comments from a user. The comments were about a tumor DeShields overcame in 2020. That year, she was diagnosed with a benign tumor on her spinal cord in 2020. She risked paralysis when she had it surgically removed and suffered painful tremors while recovering from the procedure, according to Yahoo Sports.
Over her screenshot of the comments, DeShields wrote, "Thank you God for covering me , I pray [you] cover those who wish harm unto me as well."
DeShields' foul on Clark prompted such a strong reaction on social media, the Chicago Sun-Times printed a full back page spread Saturday with a photo of the hit with the headline, "Foul Ball."
WNBA GREAT SUE BIRD SAYS CAITLIN CLARK IS PLAYOFF NIGHTMARE FOR OTHER TEAMS
The author of the article put out a statement distancing herself from the graphic.
"Let me be crystal clear: I do not choose headlines or back page photos for the Sun-Times," Annie Costabile wrote on X. "The story I wrote was one about the Sky and Fever for that matter being two very different teams since the All-Star break."
The incident was the latest in a string of hostile moments between Clark and members of the Sky this season.
Clark took an infamous illegal hip check from Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter June 1. Carter then refused to answer questions about the incident at the postgame press conference but used her social media to repeatedly criticize Clark.
"That’s that on that cause beside 3-point shooting what does she bring to the table man," Carter wrote in reply to a post about her postgame press conference on Threads.
Clark took another questionable hit to the head from Sky rookie and longtime college rival Angel Reese June 16.
Sky coach Theresa Witherspoon even called out Clark publicly to the media, saying "nobody talks more crap than Caitlin" to reporters June 27.
ESPN women's basketball commentator Holly Rowe said the harsh reception from teams like the Sky is a positive for both Caitlin and the WNBA as a whole.
"I love it because it's supposed to be competitive. … I love that people are kind of talking smack and saying, ‘Hey, you need to prove yourself,’" Rowe previously told Fox News Digital. "I kind of love it because it is supposed to be salty. That's why it's competitive, that's why it's sports.
"I think it's good for the game."
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