As Suns’ star Marina Mabrey was seen making the 3-pointer in the final seconds, it was clear that Fever would have to sit back in the playoffs. However, that’s not what had upset the fans. Many were utterly stunned by several controversial calls during the game, or by the surprising absence of calls when they were needed. This has fans voicing their frustrations on social media. And so does a famed businessman and avid basketball fan.

Much like the fans, Dave Portnoy was quick with his comments. Analyzing one of the clips shared on X, Portnoy wrote, “This is the most automatic call in the league. How the f*** do you miss this? @wnba refs are so bad.”

The clip showed Clark crashing down on the ground after Suns’ player Dewanna Bonner didn’t give her enough space to land after her 3-pointer. Numerous netizens explained that it was a foul that wasn’t called. This situation needed intervention, however, watching none being taken bothered the Fever rookie. She almost got into a brawl with Bonner.

While most of the time, it’s Clark who gets criticized for being soft in such situations, this time around, she had fans’ support. Some criticized how one ref was close to the incident and didn’t even look at what happened. Portnoy had a similar thought as he tweeted, “These refs are literally blind. It’s disgusting we keep using challenges on fake fouls.”

Portnoy and many Fever fans were not at peace when Fever star Aliyah Boston was called out for a fake foul. In Game 1 against the Suns, Boston was seen grabbing a ball from Alyssa Thomas when she fell down. Despite clearly not having made any contact with Thomas, Boston was called out for the foul. Portnoy must have pointed to the same incident that had the fans reeling over it on social media.

Dave Portnoy continues to rant on social media

There were far too many missed calls that frustrated fans. In one clip shared by Portnoy, Clark fell to the ground after contact from a Suns player, causing her to miss the shot. Despite the clear contact, no foul was called. He wrote, “This is absolutely outrageous no call.  Disgsusting.” 

Portnoy shared a close-up snap of the game, highlighting the Suns player’s contact with Clark. He captioned it “no call,” emphasizing the missed foul. In another incident during Game 1, Suns player Dijonai Carrington appeared to poke Clark in the eye. Once again, no foul was called, as noted by Jason Whitlock on X. But all was good with the Fever rookie. 

She scored 25 points, 9 assits and 6 rebounds in Game 2 to become the first rookie to record 25+ points, 5+ assists and 5+ rebounds in a postseason game since Cynthia Cooper in 1997, but not without struggle. Despite that, Fever lost 87-81 to the Sun. Next up, we will get to see Clark and Fever in the upcoming season. 

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.