Women's Fastbreak On SI

Diana Taurasi Had Caitlin Clark Fans Call Hypocrisy

Caitlin Clark fans are up in arms after a familiar-looking reaction from Diana Taurasi.

Grant Young

Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (3) waits for play to resume on Sept. 5, 2024 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (3) waits for play to resume on Sept. 5, 2024 at Footprint Center in Phoenix. / Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

During a September 13 game against the Las Vegas Aces, Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark received her 6th technical foul of the WNBA regular season.

The technical was issued after Clark smacked a basket's stanchion out of frustration a few minutes into the game because she was upset about a foul call. Many fans believed that the technical foul getting called was unnecessary, given that it was a brief display of frustration that wasn't done directly toward a referee.

And Clark's passionate fanbase is upset once again on Sunday after WNBA legend Diana Taurasi did the exact same thing during the third quarter of the Phoenix Mercury's game against the Chicago Sky — and didn't receive a technical foul for doing so.

X user @kenswift posted a video of Taurasi smacking the stanchion and wrote, "Hey @WNBA so this is only a Tech for @CaitlinClark22?"

One fan commented on this post, adding, "And it’s the same ref with the dreads that’s calling the game"; meaning that the same referee was present for both displays of frustration.

"New rules state this only applies to Caitlin Clark," joked another fan with a photo of Clark holding her hands up during a press conference.

A third fan added, "So the mother doesn't get a tech for this? It only reserved for the kid huh?" along with a photo of Clark and Taurasi sharing a laugh during a game.

While it's fair for Clark fans to be upset about what seems like clear hypocrisy, the silver lining is that Clark avoided picking up her 7th technical foul on Sunday, and therefore won't be getting suspended for the Fever's final regular season game against the Washington Mystics.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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