90 seconds! That’s all it took for Caitlin Clark’s playoff debut to spiral downwards. As the athlete fell to the ground, clutching her face, she was in a lot of pain. The Fever called a timeout when they got possession back, and her teammates ran to help her up and off the court. Upon review, people got to know that it was Sun’s guard DiJonai Carrington who brought Clark down by poking her right in the eye. “Obviously, she got me pretty good in the eye,” shared Clark in a post-match media conference. The No.1 defensive team once again proved why they are known for their physicality.

But this time, it seemed even the officials were helping the Sun. Despite the evident poke, it was not called a foul by the referees, and play continued on the other side of the court until the Fever called a timeout to regain possession and help Clark. The 22-year-old Iowa native, being herself, didn’t leave the game, although, for a brief moment, she went to the bench to recollect herself.

Clark returned to the court and continued playing. “I got good shots. They didn’t go down. It’s a tough time for that to happen. Had three wide open in the first half that I usually make. It didn’t feel good when it happened, but I don’t think it affected me,” mentioned Clark. Well, it did affect her.

The pain in her eye was so intense that it started showing up as a black eye by halftime. People started speculating that the injury was the reason Caitlin Clark struggled in the first half: She went 0-of-6 from 3-point range and 1-of-9 from the field for just three points at halftime.

What else would you expect? As always, the Fever fans came to Clark’s defense, but this time, DiJonai Carrington was in their crosshairs. Why?

It wasn’t just for the eye poke though. It was what she said later in the game. Clark had a follow-through and hit Carrington in the eye, and the latter’s contact lens fell on the court. As she tried to deal with the situation, the WNBA player who was mic’d up, was heard saying, “If that’s anyone else, that’s a foul.” This angered people. After all, earlier in the game, her own action of poking Clark in the eye was noticed by fans. However, both sides were not penalized by the referees. So fans felt she had no ground to stand on after fouling against Clark.

DiJonai Carrington has to face the fans’ wrath after the black eye incident!

While some fans looked furious, most were worried about Clark’s eye.

• “Dijonai might actually be braind-ad. You literally blacked her f–king eye with no foul called, and you’re b–ching about a non-existent special whistle. STFU seriously.”
• “Didn’t you black her eye and no foul was called? Y’all can’t b–ch about a ‘special whistle’ when CC is flagrant fouled the most in the league.”

For context, the term ‘special whistle for Clark’ emerged after a flagrant 1 foul on the rookie by Carter earlier in the regular season. It was Angel Reese, another rookie standout, who coined the term. For fans, this recent incident, where Clark wasn’t awarded a foul despite the black eye, became a hard rebuttal; Especially for those who accuse the rookie star of getting special treatment from referees.

“The thing about DiJonai is she dishes it out but then plays the VICTIM,” penned another spectator. This isn’t the first time Carrington has played dirty. Earlier in the season, she ended up mocking Caitlin Clark when she called a foul. Carrington is also known to foul a lot. However, a few things point out to a rivalry that goes beyond the basketball court.

For example, back in June, Clark was asked about fans using her name as part of political agendas, but the player shared that she was just focusing on her sport. This response angered Carrington, who wanted Clark to be more outspoken.

“She annoys me so much,” wrote another user about Carrington. Now that she has yet again gone after Clark, fans took notice of her actions. The disappointment worsened as Clark, due to the swelling in her eye, went 0 of 6 from 3-point range and 1 of 9 from the field. This has even led Clark’s fans to make a request. “Speak on it!” expressed one fan.

Though Clark already spoke on the matter, it seems fans are not satisfied with her words. But there’s more to come in the playoffs. The best way to respond would probably be on the court, as Clark prefers. What do you think?