The Gainbridge Fieldhouse was all fired up today. The Angel Reese-Kamilla Cardoso matchup with Caitlin Clark turned into a silent brawl between the Fever rookie and Chicago guard Chennedy Carter. After the game, the incident received a lot of traction. While many people have criticized Carter for her actions, some are also saying that the Indiana Fever players should have stood up for their teammate, including NFL legend Shannon Sharpe.

Sharing his thoughts about how teammates like Aliyah Boston, who was standing right beside the rookie, should have stood up for Caitlin Clark, he said, “Aliyah Boston! Don’t let them do your home girl like that. That ain’t gonna fly.” Shannon Sharpe also gave his two cents on the unnecessary action on his podcast, the Nightcap. Later, the 3x Super Bowl Champion also talked about how it is best to save each other and also get a foul instead of just letting one person get the brunt of it all.

At the same time, Sharpe also defended Reese’s actions, who also shoved Caitlin Clark during a play. He said, “Angel Reese trying to tangle it up. Angel Reese trying to block her out and she takes it to the ground, that’s basketball!” Apparently, Sharpe’s comments were targeted at the fans who have been saying that the opponents are simply trying to win and that will happen by stopping the NCAA’s offensive menace from scoring.

However, Sharpe is not the only person who called out Caitlin Clark’s teammates. Matt Barnes too asked the Fever crew to protect their star. This is something that is a norm in team sports throughout the world. Recently, Diana Taurasi stood up for Phoenix Mercury teammate Sophie Cunnigham as well. But from the Fever itself, there are many who are taking action.

Caitlin Clark gets a helping hand in Indiana

Before the NCAA star even made it to the draft night, many people targeted her. Diana Taurasi and the WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes both got bad reps after they made some undermining comments towards Clark. Now that she is in the league, fans can see that the other players are targeting and heavily screening her. Another thing that the fans have also noted is how Clark is not getting whistles from the referees.

Following the same, the General Manager of the Fever, Lin Dunn, took it to her X account. She reminded the league what it is about. She wrote, “There’s a difference between tough defense and unnecessary— targeting actions! It needs to stop! The league needs to “ cleanup” the cr*p! That’s NOT who this league is!!”

Dunn also attached the video of today’s post-game press conference where Indiana head coach Christie Sides mentioned that the team has been sending clips of fouls that the officials are not calling to the league. Currently, Caitlin Clark is already running on 3 technical fouls and is in danger of being suspended. While we don’t know if there is an officiating issue going on, we do see the former professional players speaking up on it. Surely, their experience and advice can be quite an eye-opener for the basketball world and the WNBA.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.