Caitlin Clark Technical Foul: Here’s Why Fever Star Confronted Janelle Salaun in Heated Dust-Up
· Yahoo Sports
Caitlin Clark got her second technical foul of the 2026 WNBA season on Friday after confronting Valkyries’ Janelle Salaun. Just before the halftime whistle, as Clark went for an offensive rebound and jostled with Salaun, she felt a shove in her back from the Valkyries player. Clark seemingly wasn’t a fan of that and tried to get back at Salaun with a forced swipe at the ball she had rebounded.
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Salaun flung her right elbow, and Clark got in her face for the previous off-ball shove. Players and staff from both teams got involved and separated them. As the camera slowed down, the words Clark mouthed amid the verbal altercation became more evident. Here’s what the Fever star said:
“Don’t do that s**t.”
Here’s the video of the incident:
While Caitlin Clark faces aggressive defense in most games, the Valkyries’ intensity was higher. She was seemingly frustrated over the lack of non-calls during the game and even lashed out at a referee for inconsistent officiating on both ends, three minutes before her dust-up with Janelle Salaun.
In that incident, the broadcasters’ mics picked up Clark’s complaint to the official.
“That’s the same call, call it over there,” she yelled.
Clark was returning from a one-game absence due to a back injury. She made the rest day count, putting together one of he best performances of the season against the Valkyries. Clark finished with 22 points and nine assists, shooting 4 of 9 from deep. The Fever won 90-82, improving 4-2 and winning consecutive games for the first time this season.
Caitlin Clark slammed media and online narratives on her back injury
Caitlin Clark usually displays a calm demeanor off the court, especially in the media. No other player probably comes close to her poise behind the mic. However, it was different on Friday as she addressed reporters about her controversial absence from Wednesday’s game against the Portland Fire. She gave a rundown of her day and what led to her absence, saying:
“Woke up Tuesday, was a little sore, texted our training staff … then I had PT at home. Then I came down here at like one o’clock, and tried to do everything I can, got on the court, I lifted, and went through a hard workout.”
Clark slammed the “crazy” narratives on her last-minute absence by revealing that her mom, who was at the game to watch her, knew about the injury just 40 minutes before it went public.
“And I actually went back and looked, because of all these narratives that are going crazy online, about when I told my mom I wasn’t gonna play the game. 4:47, you guys found out at 5:20. So one of the most important people of my life found out 40 minutes before you guys.”
Some fans online questioned if Caitlin Clark was punished or suspended for an altercation with an assistant coach in Sunday’s game against the Storm. A few thought the Fever had manipulated the injury report to stop the ticket sales from crashing.
These theories erupted due to the last-minute update, as the Fever hadn’t listed Clark at all before the 5 pm local time deadline. The WNBA reportedly warned the Fever about making the injury designation clearer.