“I think the physicality is probably going to be one of the biggest things for myself,” Caitlin Clark had spoken about the WNBA before her preseason debut against the Dallas Wings in May. And her opponents did pick it up. First Chennedy Carter and more recently, Diamond DeShields pushed Clark with her shoulder, in what looked to be intentional, nudging her towards the ground. Over time, both the stars were slammed by Clark’s fans. However, a certain Celtics Journalist came to the fore to defend both the stars attributing it to the game. But even she wasn’t spared by Clark’s fans, revealing that she is receiving hateful messages.

SB Nation Celtics writer Noa Dalzell revealed that Clark fans have been sending her spiteful messages which has affected her a lot. Dalzell had defended Carter and DeShields after both were given fouls by the referees for their actions against Clark. Since then, as per Dalzell, her inbox has been “flooded with the most disturbing, hateful messages,” on Monday.

“Since writing this, my inbox has been flooded with the most disturbing, hateful messages I could have ever imagined… … which has only reinforced how important this was to write. If this is the vitriol I’m met with, I can’t imagine what the players themselves have dealt with,” Dalzell stated on Monday via X.

Dalzell had come to the fore to opine that physicality is a part of the WNBA and Clark had demonstrated over time that “she can handle physical play.” However, the aftermath of the fouls levied against Chennedy Carter and DeShields was unacceptable as Clark fans had taken different social media platforms to troll the two stars. While DeShields had put up a screenshot of a Clark fan wishing for a relapse of her tumor, Carter had been called “a jealous a– hating b–ch” by one of the trolls. Therefore, as per Dalzell, the two players had to pay a lot for just playing basketball.

Chennedy Carter during her game against the Indiana Fever in June after scoring a point, in what looked to be intentional. nudged Clark with her shoulder. Clark’s rival Angel Reese all the while was cheering for her teammate. Carter was thus given a foul by the referee which was upgraded to flagrant foul 1 afterward. Similarly, DeShields had pushed Clark to the ground on Saturday after the former NCAA Queen received a pass on a fast break from Aliyah Boston. But, contrary to her fans, Clark has a different view on physicality.

Caitlin Clark shares her take on Chennedy Carter’s foul

“She’s not built for the physicality of the WNBA,” those were the University of Connecticut Huskies Geno Auriemma’s take on Clark’s physicality problems. Auriemma had seen Clark throughout her four years with the Hawkeyes and even played his team against her during the NCAA tournament. Hence, as per the 70-year-old coach, the 6 feet was fragile to adjust to the physicality.

But, Clark did not cry foul about being pushed in the W. When during a press conference in June, Clark was questioned about hearing an apology from Carter, the 22-year-old stated, “It’s competitive. It’s not going to be nice all the time,” somewhat subtly pointing out that she didn’t expect an apology from Carter who was just playing basketball.

And perhaps, Clark’s fans too need to realize that it isn’t fair to be toxic to her opponents. And with this incident maybe Clark will come forward to save Dalzell from the heat.