WNBA Refs Face Extreme Backlash After Caitlin Clark Eliminated From Playoffs

The WNBA lost one of its best draws before the playoffs began when Angel Reese suffered a season-ending wrist injury. Then on Wednesday night, September 25, the league lost its biggest draw when Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were eliminated from the postseason by the Connecticut Sun .

That's sometimes simply the way it goes, as the Fever were the No. 6 seed playing a team with a better record on its home floor two games in a row.

However, there was an extreme amount of backlash on social media when it came to the officiating in Game 2 of the series. Several fans of Clark and the Fever cried foul on the lack of foul calls the referees whistled, insinuating or outright contending that the officiating was the reason Indiana lost the game and its season.

"How can the WNBA justify these refs? Caitlin Clark gets blatantly fouled twice ... No call," one X user wrote under video clips of the game . "I get that it's playoff basketball, but these are bad 😳."

"Caitlin Clark & the Fever were playing the Sun & the refs. It was such a hard game to watch -- the refs just did not make the right calls, or make calls at all," another fan wrote . "Hate to see Clark’s rookie season end that way, but it was a helluva ride. Indiana should be proud. #FeverRising"

"There’s always a bit of cheekiness in sport. I mean, can’t deny it felt good when [Erica] Wheeler came off the bench & gave [the Sun] a taste of their own medicine, right?" a third user wrote . "However, it’s up to refs to apply rules accordingly. Suns didn’t get this far by only playing dirty, they’re a strong team."

"That's a foul [on] Caitlin Clark #Catilyn #WNBA," a fourth person added under a video of Clark getting hit by a Sun defender at the rim.

Some critics pointed simply to the box score, where it detailed that the Fever attempted 9 free throws on the evening compared to Sun, who got to the line 23 times total.

Indiana fell to Connecticut by a final score of 87-81 and will not return to regular season action until next spring.