Credit – USA TODAY Sports

Chennedy Carter’s Flagrant 1 foul on Caitlin Clark during Friday’s game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky has caused quite a frenzy among fans and analysts alike. ESPN’s very own Elle Duncan, while not condoning Carter’s antics, lashed out against fans trying to victimize Caitlin Clark in this situation.

Elaborating on her point, the veteran journalist detailed how Caitlin Clark fans are up in arms about something that is considered ‘normal‘ in contact sports like basketball. She even underlined how “casual“ fans are spoiling the league with their uninformed takes.

Duncan claimed that almost every player in the WNBA had their “welcome to the league moment“ and that Clark shouldn’t be any different. The 41-year-old seemed to be frustrated with the narrative that Clark is being targeted by the entire WNBA for some kind of inherent jealousy of her.

The veteran journalist even brought up the foul that Fever forward Alyssa Thomas committed against Clark’s rival, Angel Reese. Duncan pointed out that no one protested about Reese being thrown to the ground, which clearly shows favoritism being at play for the Iowa native.
On the recent edition of ‘The Elle Duncan Show‘, she said, “Nobody said that Alyssa Thomas was out to get Angel Reese when she very clearly, Flagrant 2, grabbed her, threw her to the ground, and was ejected from the game. No one came to Angel Reese’s defense. Not a single person.”

“The narrative has already been decided amongst some Caitlin Clark fans that everyone hates her and the confirmation bias is there,” Duncan added.

During her show, The ESPN analyst blamed Clark supporters and WNBA bandwagon fans for the entire situation, pointing out how every little incident or foul against Clark becomes a headliner. While on the flip side, Reese has been made out to be the villain by the same fans.

Duncan also admitted that she knew immediately after the foul was committed that Clark’s fans will weaponize it to take down the entire league.

Shaquille O’Neal, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to agree with Duncan’s observations. He thinks Clark is being bullied.

Shaquille O’Neal sides with Clark’s supporters on the Carter case

Rookie Hazing is a part of most professional sports leagues worldwide. While it’s not mandated, hazing has found its way into sports as a tradition, a rite of passage that helps rookie players bond with their seniors and build character.

That being said, hazing can go too far, and that’s what Shannon Shape finds to be true in Clark’s case. Taking to his show, ‘Night Cap‘, Sharpe talked about Caitlin Clark and her situation with Chennedy Carter as an example of how things are getting out of control with the Indiana rookie.

“It’s exciting for the WNBA and its players, but that play there, nah, we can’t be doing that. That’s unacceptable. Tell me when the last time all these players have been in the league all this time, name all the prominent players and tell me the time the WNBA has had this much buzz.”

Lakers legend, Shaquille O’Neal, acknowledged Sharpe’s take on the matter by reposting the clip from the podcast, highlighting his agreement on the matter.

But O’Neal and Sharpe aren’t the only people who think that the WNBA and their players should treat Clark better, as a plethora of other athletes and analysts have already sided with Clark.