Caitlin Clark, DiJonai Carrington give emphatic takes on eye-poke drama

It’s a story arc that’s become common during Caitlin Clark’s rookie WNBA season: She’s on the wrong end of a hard foul or play, defenders online cry foul and others stake out the stances defending whoever might’ve bumped, knocked down, hit or, in this case, poked Clark in the eye.

That’s what has unfolded, in part, after Clark got an inadvertent poke in the eye from Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington during Game 1 of a playoff series between the Suns and Indiana Fever. But both players were emphatic after the fact: There was nothing untoward on the play, just a mishap that comes with the territory of playing basketball.

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“I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye,” Carrington said when asked if it was intentional, as it was made out to be by some online. “That doesn’t even make sense to me. But no, I didn’t. I didn’t know I hit her, actually. I was trying to make a play on the ball and I guess I followed through and I hit her. So obviously it’s never intentional, that’s not the type of player I am.”

I asked DiJonai Carrington about that moment early in Sunday’s Indiana-Connecticut game when she caught Caitlin Clark in the eye. Here’s her answer: pic.twitter.com/DnQVYi0r6J

— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) September 24, 2024

Clark, too, was just as dismissive of the idea. She laughed when asked about people claiming it was intentional during a brief scrum with reporters.

“It wasn’t intentional by any means,” Clark said. “You just watch the play, it wasn’t intentional.”

Carrington was also asked a follow up about a moment later in the game when she and a teammate were seen laughing, which some apparently believed was about her poking Clark in the eye.

Carrington also pushed back on that notion firmly.

“No, I just told you I didn’t even know I hit her, so I can’t laugh about something I didn’t know that happened,” Carrington said.

The play where Clark got hit in the eye didn’t lead to a foul

In the first quarter of the Indiana Fever’s first-round showdown against the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Playoffs, Carrington poked Clark in the eye. Clark fell to the ground after Carrington’s finger made contact but the referees didn’t call a foul.

Clark’s eye immediately began to develop a bruise. Perhaps the early eye poke was partly to blame for Clark’s underwhelming performance in the first half. Clark shot 1-9 from the field through the first two quarters and 0-6 from beyond the arc.

The Sun would roll to a 93-69 win on Sunday night in the playoff opener for both squads.

It was an unusual showing from Clark, who has been fantastic since the WNBA All-Star break. Earlier on Sunday, Clark was named the Associated Press 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year. The vote was unanimous.

Clark is only the second player in the Indiana Fever’s history to earn the award — the other being Clark’s teammate, Aliyah Boston.

Clark started all 40 regular season games for the Fever, averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game while shooting 41.7% from the field and 34.4% from beyond the arc. Clark’s 8.4 assists per game were a league-high.

The WNBA Rookie of the Year Award is only Clark’s latest achievement. For her debut campaign efforts, she was also a four-time WNBA Rookie of the Month, three-time WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week and WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month in August.

Additionally, she was named to the AP All-WNBA First Team with Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas and A’ja Wilson. Clark finished fourth in MVP voting, with Wilson ultimately walking away with the award.