Marty Irmen

Charter member of Track Club; Established 2013; Official Cabin 7 Material Founder.

[Sports Patriot @SportsPatriotUS]

Caitlin Clark is not on the floor, but the storyline still is.

Mark this down before tipoff.

Tonight is not just Fever vs. Sparks.

Tonight is a Caitlin Clark narrative test.

Caitlin Clark is out. That means the WNBA, the officials, the broadcasters, the media, and the Indiana Fever all get a very convenient opportunity.

They get to show the world a cleaner, calmer, smoother-looking Fever team without Caitlin on the floor.

And if that happens, do not act surprised when the narrative follows.

They will not say it directly.

They will not come out and say the Fever are better without Caitlin Clark.

They are too smart for that.

But listen closely.

If the Fever look decent tonight, the language will be obvious.

“They look more balanced.”

“They are moving the ball better.”

“They are playing freer.”

“Raven Johnson looks comfortable running the offense.”

“The team seems to be gelling.”

“Stephanie White has them settled down.”

“They are not forcing everything through one player.”

That is how narratives get built.

Not with one obvious lie.

With a hundred little suggestions.

And tonight gives them the perfect setup.

Because Caitlin Clark is not there to complicate the story.

She is not there to get grabbed for 94 feet.

She is not there to be face-guarded like a national security threat.

She is not there to take the bumps, the holds, the hip checks, the late contact, the cheap shots, and the no-calls.

She is not there to clap once and somehow be assessed a technical foul.

She is not there to make the officials uncomfortable.

She is not there to make the media choose between what they see and what they want the story to be.

So watch the whistle.

Not just fouls.

Free throws.

That is where games are controlled.

A common foul at midcourt is one thing. A whistle that sends a team to the line is something else entirely. Free throws create foul trouble, stop runs, shift momentum, reward contact, punish defense, and quietly decide how a game feels.

If the Fever suddenly get a fairer whistle tonight, notice it.

If the Sparks are not living at the free-throw line, notice it.

If Indiana is allowed to play physical without every touch becoming a crisis, notice it.

If the officials suddenly discover restraint when Caitlin Clark is unavailable, notice it.

Because that would not prove the Fever are better without Caitlin.

It would prove the environment around Caitlin is different when she is not there.

It would prove what we all already know is lurking behind the scenes.

Watch Raven Johnson tonight.

I do not expect her to be guarded the way Caitlin is guarded.

I do not expect her to be face-guarded, chased, grabbed, bumped, crowded, tested, and harassed the way Caitlin is.

I expect her to get space.

I expect her to get rhythm.

I expect her to be allowed to play through mistakes.

I expect the broadcast to talk about her poise.

I expect the media to be ready with praise if she strings together a few good possessions.

And I do not expect Stephanie White to manage her the way she has managed Caitlin.

No strange rhythm-killing substitutions right when she gets going.

No pulling her after she starts to heat up.

No breaking momentum just as the offense begins to breathe.

No making the game harder than it needs to be.

Tonight, I expect the coaching to look cleaner.

The whistle to look cleaner.

The broadcast to sound cleaner.

The Fever to be framed as cleaner.

And if that happens, the message will be very clear.

Caitlin was the chaos.

Caitlin was the problem.

Caitlin was the distraction.

Caitlin was the reason the Fever could not settle down.

That is the story I believe they are setting up.

Not openly.

Not honestly.

But carefully.

And that is why tonight matters.

Because the league has spent the last several days showing us exactly where it stands.

Alyssa Thomas put a fist into Caitlin Clark’s throat area. No foul was called live. The league reviewed it afterward, called it reckless, called it a non-basketball act, upgraded it to a Flagrant 2, and then gave one game and a $1,000 fine.

One game.

Then players defended the “physicality.”

Media voices minimized the outrage.

The commissioner said far too little.

The Mercury posted a nasty graphic and deleted it after the backlash.

And through all of it, Caitlin Clark was treated less like the player who keeps growing the league and more like the inconvenience everyone wishes would stop making the league answer hard questions.

So yes, I am watching the box score tonight.

Closely.

Because this is the logical next step.

When the cheap shots become impossible to defend, shift the story.

When the officiating becomes impossible to explain, change the environment.

When Caitlin’s impact becomes impossible to deny, create a night where everyone else looks just fine without her.

Make the Fever look calm.

Make Raven look comfortable.

Make Coach White look competent.

Make the whistle look reasonable.

Make the broadcast sound hopeful.

Make the media say the team found something.

Then let the audience connect the dots.

That is how you move people who are still on the fence.

You do not have to say Caitlin Clark is the problem.

You just create one clean night without her and let the narrative do the dirty work.

Maybe I am wrong.

Maybe tonight will be officiated the same way.

Maybe Raven will be guarded like Caitlin.

Maybe the Fever will be coached with the same strange rhythm.

Maybe the broadcast will openly admit how much the Fever miss the most important player in the league.

Maybe the media will resist the urge to turn one game into a referendum on Caitlin Clark.

Maybe.

But I doubt it.

I think tonight is going to look different.

I think the Fever will be given every chance to look stable.

I think Raven Johnson will be given every chance to look like a star.

I think Stephanie White will suddenly look like she knows how to manage a guard.

I think it will be impossible for Briann January and the other assistants to hide the excitement on their faces.

I think the whistle will calm down.

I think the media will praise the “new look” Fever without saying the quiet part too loudly.

And I think, by the end of the night, the same people who have been minimizing Caitlin Clark’s treatment will try to use this game as evidence that the Fever are somehow more complete without her.

Do not fall for it.

Tonight is not just a basketball game.

Tonight is a setup for the next narrative.

And if it plays out the way I think it will, remember who said it before tipoff.

[#FireStephWhite @WNBA_Analyst]

Angelica Suffren (Referee #7) was looking directly at Alyssa Thomas who had her fist on CC’s neck. Yet she didn’t call anything and let the play go on.

We need to start calling out these referees who are either a) betting on games or b) letting CC get hammered out of spite!

[Mily @DayDreamThis]

- When AT injured Candace Parker
- When AT elbowed Natisha Heideman
- When AT grabbed Angel on the neck and dropped her
- When AT injured Fiebich bumping her into Kah Copper
- When AT injured Napheesa
- When AT "trying to stand up" pressed her BALLED UP FIST on Caitlin's neck

[Max Twain @MaxTwain24]

Never has a photo so completely encapsulated the total and complete failure of the @wnba’s leadership.

Never in the history of sports has a golden goose been so deliberately squandered.

[Dave Portnoy @stoolpresidente]

What are we even doing here? Brutal cheap shot. These women would still be flying commercial without Caitlin and this is how she is treated. Insane

[Sophie Cunningham FAN CLUB @SophieC_FanClub]

Go back to last nights “incident” and you’ll see AT come in and intentionally bump check CC hard in the back.

Then this tonight.

But yea, clapping and pointing is uncalled for.

[ESPN @espn]

"[Caitlin Clark] is not called the same way as everybody else is called. The fist in the throat is crazy. ... It's dangerous."

Fever coach Stephanie White went off on the officials for not calling what she deemed two "cheap shots" on Clark.
https://t.co/UQqeeengDm

[Robert Griffin III @RGIII]

Caitlin Clark and every WNBA player should be protected from this targeted behavior.

[Robin Lundberg @robinlundberg]

The WNBA must suspend Alyssa Thomas for the dirty play she made against Caitlin Clark.
https://t.co/QiRwfe9OxU

[correlation @nosyone4]

ENOUGH @WNBA @CathyEngelbert @IndianaFever @AmberLCox

[CC Report @cc22report]

OK here's the rant

Earmuffs for the sensitive

YOU GODDAMN PIECE OF SHIT REFS AND WNBA FRONT OFFICE

I HOPE YOU ARE FUCKING HAPPY

JUST TODAY YOU RECEIVED INCONTROVERTABLE PROOF THAT DESPITE YOUR BEST EFFORTS CAITLIN'S POPULARITY IS STILL THROUGH THE ROOF, STILL THE NEEDLE, STILL THE GENERATOR, STILL THE ENGINE THAT HAS POWERED THIS CLOWN LEAGUE TO A BRAND NEW MEDIA DEAL AND CBA

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU HAS HAD YOUR FUCKING POCKETS LINED BY CAITLIN CLARK

AND YET YOU ALLOW THIS SORT OF SHIT ALL THE TIME

LANDING SPACE VIOLATION - NO CALL

PUNCHED IN THE THROAT - NO CALL

ELBOW TO THE FACE - NO CALL

AND THAT IS IN JUST THE PAST GAME AND A HALF

THIS HAS BEEN ALL YEAR

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT FOR EVERY PLAYER EXCEPT FOR CAITLIN

SHE GETS TO BE TIGER MAULED EVERY FUCKING GAME

IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SHE BECAME INJURED AGAIN AND HERE IT IS

RIGHT WHEN SHE FINALLY WAS BACK TO FORM, RIGHT WHEN SHE HAD REGAINED HER CONFIDENCE, RIGHT WHEN SHE LOOKED LIKE CAITLIN AGAIN

WHAT HAS SHE DONE TO EARN YOUR SCORN

WHAT HAS SHE DONE FOR YOU TO GIVE UP LITERALLY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FAVOR OF HER BEING LITERALLY INJURED AND OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE

DID SHE LIKE KILL YOUR DOG OR SOMETHING IN A PAST LIFE

GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER YOU INCOMPETENT ASS CLOWN LEAGUE

FUCK

[Yahoo Sports @YahooSports]

Stephanie White sounded off on the no-call involving Alyssa Thomas and Caitlin Clark during the Fever-Mercury game on Wednesday night.

[Comrade Misty is Putin’s Buddy @SarcasmStardust]

Caitlin has been dealing with cheap shots like this since the second she entered the league. And Annie, among other media members, have spent much of that time whining about Caitlin’s body language instead of focusing the bullshit she has to deal with and the fact that she can’t even get a fair whistle. I don’t know. If I had to deal with constant cheap shots and the worst whistle in the league I’d probably have a bad attitude too. Fucking morons.

[CC Report @cc22report]

This is the textbook definiton of a landing space technical foul

Absolutely textbook

And indeed it was reviewed

FOR A POTENTIAL HOSTILE ACT BY CLARK!?!?!?!

NO THOUGHT WHATSOEVER TO THE RECKLESS CLOSEOUT

THIS WAS THE NUMBER ONE POINT OF EMPHASIS FOR THE OFFICIALS BECAUSE THE POTENTIAL FOR INJURY WAS SO HIGH

AND INDEED CLARK WAS INJURED B Y A R E C K L E S S C L O S E O U T

THIS IS THE BIGGEST EPIC FAIL DISASTER OF A REF CLOWN SHOW I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE AND I'M A CUBS FAN

ABSOLUTE AND UTTER DISGRACE HAD IT HAPPENED TO ANYONE IN THE LEAGUE

BUT THIS ISN'T JUST ANYONE

THIS IS CAITLIN CLARK, THE FACE OF THE GODDAMN LEAGUE

AND YOU JUST THROW HER TO THE WOLVES EVERY TIME OUT

[correlation @nosyone4]

WTF

[Christine Brennan @cbrennansports]

What a photo this is. Alyssa Thomas delivers a fist to the throat of Caitlin Clark. No foul was called. Will the WNBA continue to ignore the way its most marketable, popular and important player is hit and fouled by other players? Or will it finally act — and suspend Thomas?

[Anthony Wireman @awireman]

I’m disgusted by what I just watched. The WNBA has a real problem.

[Maria Monsegur @MariaMonse8888]

What an embarrassment I this is unacceptable @WNBA @IndianaFever stand out for your players ! No call here !! 3 players on CC 🤬🙄

[VENOM 😈 @BlameVenom]

AT Punched Caitlin Clark In The THROAT.. No Call, No Review, NOTHING

The MEDIA Tells You Caitlin Is The Spoiled One When It's the Opposite She's TARGETED & Has Been A Target For 3 Years & Counting

[Moey Moe @mowingmcs]

What the actual F is going on in @WNBA ? @CathyEngelbert do your JOB & stop intentional rough plays to injure Caitlin Clark- @stoolpresidente & @barstoolsports can you speak up please? They’re gonna make sure they injured her again this season.