“You know what? Caitlin was so laid-back last year,” local Indiana referee Rob Wann told Barstool Sports recently—a remark that left fans blinking in disbelief. Laid-back? Caitlin Clark? The same player who treats referees like sparring partners? Interesting. Because even in a preseason game where she was on the bench, Clark was up and at them—cheering, clapping, and engaging in “animated discussions” with the officials. She may have been in street clothes, but she clearly left the chill at home.

Thankfully, teammate Aliyah Boston was there. With just over four minutes left in the first half against the Mystics, the Fever forced a turnover with some full-court pressure. Clark, hyped beyond levels, leapt up, clapped, and maybe accidentally went a tad too far onto the court. Boston gently reeled her back in before a technical could be slapped for “entering the court without proper permission.” Because yes, that’s a real rule. And yes, Caitlin almost broke it. 

Well, her six technical fouls last year should tell you the story. If that was the “laid-back” Caitlin, imagine what an aggressive Caitlin would be. So it seems her streak of technical fouls has started. She got her first technical foul against the Atlanta Dream for talking to the ref after a turnover led to an open Bri Jones layup. Clark had words for the ref, likely about the missing foul call on her end. Fans, ever loyal, lit up social media, calling it one of the “dumbest techs” they’d ever seen. Which, to be fair, they might want to make the name of her rookie season documentary.

Referee’s technical on Clark draws fire from Fever fans

“Caitlin clark already has a technical foul. 😭🤣” Wrote one user. Interestingly, Clark had promised her coach that she’d limit her technical fouls this season.“This year… I already told Steph (Fever head coach Stephanie White) two, max,” Clark had said. Well, since this foul won’t count towards the regular season, she is probably okay with it.

But, so much for self-control. Despite Clark’s repeated promises to keep a check on the techs this season, the vow was already out the window in the second preseason game. Fans couldn’t help but shake their head—partly at the situation, partly in disbelief that technicals were even a thing during preseason. Honestly, many fans could not believe that refs were allowed to be that serious before the real games started. The confusion only added to the chaos.

“new year. caitlin clark still getting assaulted with no foul calls. okay bro yall got it👍” said another fan, sounding barely surprised that Clark got a foul so early into the season. They brought in the emotions from last year when Clark had to deal with excessive physicality in her very first season without referee intervention. Meanwhile, she herself received six of those and one more, and things wouldn’t have looked good.

Remember last year when the Storm crushed the Fever? People were literally listing out the number of times refs did the Indiana team dirty in a single game. Smith, Samuelson, and Boston were all at the receiving end of it. And just when it seemed like things couldn’t get more bizarre, Caitlin Clark took a hard hit driving to the basket—a full-on body slam with zero foul called. Even the game announcers couldn’t ignore it, calling it out as an obvious missed call. However, that same game led to this narrative, too, that CC fans just seek an excuse, and the game is supposed to get that physical. Now, that’s up for debate. But if Caitlin and refs continue down this path, she could potentially break that record of hers from last year, especially with the extended season in 2025.  

“Well, Caitlin Clark just got a tech. Didn’t think that would happen in pre-season,” said another user. Technical fouls in preseason games are certainly rare. In fact, not a single one was issued during the 2024 preseason, and according to miscellaneous data from Fox, no player has received a technical foul in the preseason since 2019. Since these games are primarily for preparation, teams generally avoid actions that could lead to conflict with referees or set a negative tone for the upcoming season. However, it appears officials have taken a stricter stance this time around.

“That’s is 2 wnba preseason games we watched Caitlin Clark play in and she has yet to go to the FREE THROW line even once. What kind of reffing is this? A ball-dominant pg and not one foul shot ?” Wrote another user. After sitting out the first preseason game, Clark returned to the court against both Brazil and the Atlanta Dream. As the point guard, she handled the ball for most of her time on the floor, so you’d expect her to draw at least a few fouls. But, then again, this was only her second game of the season.

Anyway, one thing is clear for now. Caitlin might not be able to fulfil the promise she made to her new coach and as for the rest, we will see how it pans out.