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ESPN Analyst 'Ok With' Handling of Controversial Caitlin Clark Fever-Sun Foul Fallout

ESPN analyst Monica McNutt has no issues with how Marina Mabrey's shove on Caitlin Clark was handled, but didn't like how Sophie Cunningham responded.
Grant Young|
Feb 16, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; ESPN analyst Monica McNutt on the red carpet before the All Star Celebrity Game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Feb 16, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; ESPN analyst Monica McNutt on the red carpet before the All Star Celebrity Game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

There were several extremely heated moments during the Indiana Fever's 88-71 win over the Connecticut Sun on June 17, prompting a lot of polarizing discussion within the women's basketball community.

The first came in the third quarter, when Sun player Marina Mabrey shoved Caitlin Clark to the ground after Clark and Sun guard Jacy Sheldon got into a brief shoving match (which was the result of Sheldon poking Clark in the eye while playing physical defense).

Many viewers thought Mabrey should have been ejected for this shove. But she, Clark, and Sun veteran Tiny Charles only received technical fouls while Sheldon got a flagrant one foul for the eye poke.

With about a minute remaining in the game, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham got revenge on Sheldon by wrapping her around the neck and dragging her to the floor while she went for a layup. This caused a full-blown Fever-Sun melee that led to Cunningham, Sheldon, and another Sun player being ejected.

The referees of this game have been widely criticized for how they handled this game, especially with them not ejecting Mabrey (which might have stopped Cunningham from retaliating).

However, ESPN analyst Monica McNutt took a different stance during a June 18 episode of Get Up.

"I'm ok with it," McNutt said of how Mabrey's shove on Clark was handled, per ESPN. "I think you've got to look at the history, right?... There's history there [between Clark and Sheldon]. I'm not saying necessarily history in terms of it being nasty, but... you get a little scrum here, each teammate comes to their other teammate's rescue. Marina Mabrey, like I said, is someone who does not back down from this sort of thing, as well.

"I thought it was adjudicated fairly. Could we have done without it? Yes. But I continue to say, competition is not always pretty and buttoned up... If you have a mic on [Caitlin Clark] during games, she's a trash talker, too," McNutt continued.

"I'm okay with competition. I didn't like the play by Sophie Cunningham. I thought the teammates coming to their respective teammates in the first little scrum was okay. I did not like the play by Sophie Cunningham," McNutt concluded.

This sentiment from McNutt will surely ruffle some feathers.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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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