Calls Mount Against WNBA Officials After Caitlin Clark Gesture From Sidelines, Lexie Hull Call

A downward spiral filled with injury woes traps the Indiana Fever’s 2025 run. Every passing game feels less like a matchup and more like bracing for the next blow. With key starters like Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham missing and only seven games left in the season, the Fever are currently in the last spot to make the postseason(8th) with a 19-18 record. Any further losses will mean a chance of missing the playoffs.

This made the Sunday game against the Minnesota Lynx crucial. The game itself was an uphill battle as the frontrunner in the MVP race, Napheesa Collier, returned to the court to give the Lynx a boost. The game started strongly in favor of the Fever, with them leading in the first quarter. What followed was a total unraveling, capped by a possible injury scare to the last healthy member of the Tres Leches trio still on the floor.

The incident occurred in the final quarter of the game, with the Fever on offense. The ball bounced off the rim, and Kayla McBride grabbed the defensive rebound. But Lexie Hull stepped forward to intercept any pass attempts from McBride. In an attempt to protect the ball, the Lynx player swung her arms and hit Hull square on the jaw. Officials immediately whistled the play and assessed McBride with a technical foul. Still, the decision drew frustration from many fans. They judged the penalty too lenient for the force of the contact.

Relentless physicality defined Sunday’s game. In the third quarter, Fever’s leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell went down hard after taking a shot to the face from Lynx forward Jessica Shepard. Replays showed Shepard swinging her left arm while Mitchell tried to stay in front, sending the guard crashing to the floor. The officials reviewed the play and upgraded it to a flagrant foul. Mitchell returned to the court to knock down the free throws. The Fever breathed a sigh of relief that the incident did not add another name to their already lengthy injury list.

Still, frustration with the officiating boiled over in the Fever camp. Caitlin Clark made her displeasure clear, holding up two fingers multiple times to remind referees of Courtney Williams’ foul count. Fever head coach Stephanie White also voiced her concerns afterward, saying: “You know, it was more physical than Friday’s, and it was called differently than Friday’s, and it’s part of it. The physicality, we’ve been talking about it all year. I think that everybody adjusts to how it’s being called, and we just have to continue to do so.”

While White tried to strike a balanced tone, Fever fans were far less forgiving, directing heavy criticism at WNBA officials for allowing the game to reach that level of physicality.

Fever fans lash out at WNBA officials following bad officiating towards Caitlin Clark & co.

While the Fever have every reason to complain about the officiating, they chose the high road. But their fans took to the internet to voice their opinions following the Hull-McBride fiasco. One  laid into the officials, claiming, “How is this not an ejection?? If this were the NBA, the player would get ejected and be suspended for a game or two.” Looking at the numbers from last year, the NBA was far stricter than the WNBA. While the NBA had 25+ ejections, the W only had six.

While it is a good sign to have a low number of ejections, the pleas of players paint a different picture. Another fan voiced a similar concern, stating, “Should have been a flagrant, but you won’t get that against the Lynx. Worst officiating I’ve seen in many years.” A player to point out bad officiating during a Lynx home game was Angel Reese, who did it back in July. She raised a flag on the officiating, claiming she is not afraid of a fine and wants WNBA officials to step up.

One fan pointed out that the refs had a different approach for two similar fouls against the Fever players. “Weird that this was a technical foul, but the one on that KM took was a flagrant 1. I felt this one should’ve been a flagrant. Refs are just [trash] all over the league. It makes it so difficult to watch any games,” they wrote. Another echoed their sentiment, stating, “It’s the inconsistency of fouls called for and against the Fever. It has been terrible.”

A Fever fan pointed out the refs are turning a blind eye towards the Fever, stating, “In-court self-defense should be the basic training for Fever players. Lol. The league hates them.”

Fans’ emotions are bound to erupt with multiple key players like Caitlin Clark already sidelined by injury. They understandably dread seeing Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull sent to the bench as well.