The narrative that WNBA players have it out for Caitlin Clark keeps gaining traction. The Rookie of the Year has largely lived up to her reputation from her NCAA days, but her talent and fame have not stopped her from clashing with some players in the league. Some would say that every player has their rivals, but the Clark-DiJonai Carrington incident has fans’ hackles raised.

In a video posted by ‘OutKick’, analysts Jonathan Hutton and Chad Withrow revisit the eye poke that Carrington gave Clark in the first game of the playoffs. Hutton says, “The first angle of this video, I thought it was a basketball play. And then I see further evidence of it being honestly an eye gouge. With claws, these nails… They’re weapons.”

Both the players spoke in post-game interviews that it was not intentional. While Clark made it clear that she held no hard feelings, USA Today’s Christine Brennan’s interview sparked more heated discussions. The legendary reporter had asked Carrington point blank whether she had intended to do that, to which the Sun player had said she didn’t even know she had hurt the Fever rookie.

The WNBPA had released a statement questioning Brennan’s conduct, calling her “indecent and downright insincere.” But going with Hutton and Withrow’s comments, they missed DiJonai Carrington’s ‘weapons.’

Withrow then details his own playing days in the video, “I mean she’s got these blue nails that are claws. When I played Church League Basketball they made you take a necklace off if you had one on because it could be dangerous to an opponent, to have any kind of jewelry on. And the women of the WNBA are allowed to wear claws while they play? The long nails? I don’t understand that.”

Then Hutton points out, “No foul was called by the way. That’s the other thing.” The W has not taken action against Carrington so far, nor have they commented on the USA Today controversy. But the publication did have a response to WNBPA’s Terri Jackson, and so did Brennan.

“I’ll keep asking questions”: Christine Brennan says following DiJonai Carrington storyline

Christine Brennan has been a respected name in the journalism world for decades but a controversy was bound to arise at some point. When she asked DiJonai Carrington, “Did you intend to hit her in the eye?” The Connecticut Sun player replied, “I didn’t know I hit her…Obviously, it’s never intentional, that’s not even the type of player I am,” it sparked the protective side of the WNBPA.

Following WNBPA’s take, US Today Sports Executive Editor Roxanna Scott released a statement, part of which read, “We reject the notion that the interview perpetuated any narrative other than to get the player’s perspective directly.” Even Brennan responded with a single line, “I’ll keep asking questions and seeking answers. It’s Journalism 101.” Maybe the fact that it wasn’t Carrington’s first offense against CC played into her line of questioning. Throughout the regular season clashes, the two guards have been knocking each other down, with more physicality coming from the Sun guard.

While the line of questioning seemingly perpetuated a storyline that the Players Association took issue with, Brennan still has support. For journalists like Brennan, they’re simply reporting what they see as the truth. Whether or not DiJonai Carrington meant the play harmfully or it was truly an accident is left for us to judge.