Caitlin Clark Sounds Off On Controversial Charge Call in Iowa Game
While Caitlin Clark is no longer playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team, that doesn't mean she isn't still invested in her former program's success.
In fact, it appears that Clark tried to tune in for as many Hawkeyes games as possible during the WNBA offseason. And just as Clark is fiery and competitive when she's competing on the court, she keeps that same energy when she's rooting Iowa on from behind a television screen.
It seems that Clark has a special affinity for sophomore Hawkeyes guard Taylor Stremlow. While these two were never on the same team (Stremlow was a freshman in the year after Clark left for the WNBA), it seems that No. 22 has a respect for how Stremlow conducts herself on the court.
Or at least Clark doesn't agree with how Stremlow gets officiated in certain situations. She made this apparent on November 30, when Stremlow was called for a technical foul after blocking a shot and briefly flexing in her opponent's direction when the Hawkeyes played against Fairfield.
"No way they just gave stremlow a tech for that🤣🤣🤣 refs have to let the girls show emotion," Clark wrote in an X post, which went viral on social media.
Caitlin Clark reacts to charge call in Hawkeyes game
There was another controversial moment involving Stremlow during the No. 14-ranked Iowa squad's January 1 game against the No. 20-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Stremlow was dribbling into the lane in the third quarter when she kicked the ball out to a teammate in the corner. She then seemingly ran into a Nebraska defender (albeit very lightly), which prompted the defender to fall to the ground. The referee then called a charging foul on Stremlow, despite there being minimal contact.
Stremlow looked clearly frustrated about the call, and for good reason. Clark was also frustrated, as she made an X post that read, "That charge was not remotely close to being a charge oof".
That charge was not remotely close to being a charge oof
— Caitlin Clark (@CaitlinClark22) January 1, 2026
Ultimately, the charge call didn't impact the outcome of the game, as Iowa managed to secure an impressive 86-76 win. But that didn't keep Clark from showing her frustration on the call.
Here's the charge call on Stremlow that CC is reacting to. Brutal https://t.co/K6b495ETsB pic.twitter.com/izEXRvxmq3
— Grant Young (@GrvntYoung) January 1, 2026
Clark hasn't made it to any Hawkeyes games to this point in their 2025-26 season. But there's still plenty of time for her to do so, given that Iowa is hoping to play through March and ideally into early April, if they can make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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