Caitlin Clark Fined $200 for Criticizing WNBA Referees on Social Media

Since being ruled out for the rest of the 2025 WNBA season and playoffs, Indiana Fever guard, Caitlin Clark, has since become one of the most passionate fans of her team from her spot on the bench. However, she was, perhaps, a bit overzealous in support of her team by taking a shot at the referees after Indiana’s 2-1 series win over the Atlanta Dream.

In a comment on an Instagram post, Clark wrote “Refs couldn’t stop us” in a post that showed Indiana’s bench celebrating during the team’s Game 2 victory. Then, after the Fever pulled off the upset in Game 3 to take the series on Thursday night, Clark posted on Saturday that she had been fined for criticizing the refs on social media.

“Got fined $200 for this lol😂😂😂😂😂BENCH MOB WILL BE EVEN MORE ROWDY TOMORROW LETS GOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” Clark posted on X on Saturday, with the Fever’s second-round series versus the Las Vegas Aces beginning on Sunday.

A $200 fine for someone who makes an estimated $11 million annually in endorsements is just a drop in the bucket, which teammate Sophie Cunningham alluded to with her reply Clark’s tweet. Cunningham wrote, “that’s gonna really break the bank for her. starting a GoFundMe now!”

The referees were one of the talking points from the Fever’s series victory, as an average of 39.3 total personal fouls were called. During the regular season, the Dream committed the fewest fouls of any WNBA team, as Atlanta and Indiana combined to average just 34.4 personal fouls.

This isn’t the first time a Fever player has been fined for criticizing refs. Cunningham was fined earlier this season for a social media post. In a TikTok from July, Cunningham lip-synched the lyrics to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” that said, “Stupid. Or is it, slow? Or maybe, useless?” with the words “@ some refs” included in text plastered on the video.

Despite the injury to Clark—and others, including Cunningham—the Fever notched the No. 6 seed in the 2025 WNBA playoffs, where they were underdogs to the 3-seed Dream, who tied for the second-best record in the league and entered the postseason on a six-game win streak.

However, despite not having home-court advantage, and losing Game 1 by double-digits, the Fever battled back in Game 2 to prevail 77-60 and force a deciding Game 3. That contest took place in Atlanta, and few gave the shorthanded Fever much of a chance as they were 7.5-point underdogs.

In a game that was closely contested throughout—with neither team ever having a lead by more than eight points—Indiana pulled off the road upset, 87-85, despite leading for just six minutes of the 40-minute contest. All five Fever starters scored in double-figures, led by Kelsey Mitchell’s 24 points, while Aliyah Boston had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

It’s the Fever’s first postseason series win in 10 years—and the last time they won a series in 2015, they advanced all the way to the WNBA Finals. It sends Indiana to the second round, where it will match up with the Aces. The Fever did win two of three regular season contests against Vegas, with both of those victories coming with Clark sidelined.

Last year’s Rookie of the Year issued a statement on Sept. 4 on social media declaring that she would miss the remainder of the season. The Fever then rallied to win its final three regular season games, before taking two of three versus Atlanta.

Clark last played on July 15 after suffering and playing through various lower body injuries, including a quadriceps strain and soft tissue injuries to both of her groins. She played in just 13 of a possible 44 regular season games. Indiana went 8-5 in those contests and 16-15 in games in which she was sidelined.

Clark finished her second WNBA season with averages of 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game. It was clear that she was laboring through various ailments as her renowned skill of her 3-point shot all but deserted her during the year. After leading the WNBA with 122 made 3-pointers in 2024—which is the second-most in a single-season in league history—Clark saw her percentage from downtown drop from 34.4 percent as a rookie to 27.9 percent as a sophomore.

She is expected to be fully healthy for the start of the 2026 WNBA season. It is expected to begin in May and will see the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo joining the league as expansion teams, giving the WNBA 15 total teams.