Caitlin Clark-Chennedy Carter beef, explained: How Sky guard's hard foul sparked rivalry with Fever rookie

Jacob Camenker

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Caitlin Clark-Chennedy Carter beef, explained: How Sky guard's hard foul sparked rivalry with Fever rookie image

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever got their biggest win of the 2024 WNBA season Saturday when they beat the Chicago Sky 71-70.

The game was marketed as a rematch between Clark and fellow WNBA rookie Angel Reese, who went head-to-head in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments to create an entertaining rivalry between Iowa and LSU. While Reese starred for the Sky, her teammate Chennedy Carter emerged as Clark's biggest rival during and after the contest.

Carter — a four-year WNBA veteran in her first season with the Sky — enjoyed a quality performance off the bench for the Sky. She racked up 19 points, four rebounds and six assists to help key Chicago's second-half comeback efforts, but the play for which she drew the most attention was a hard foul of Clark at the end of the third quarter.

Since then, Clark has expressed her displeasure with the foul, which she said was "not a basketball play." Carter declined to speak about Clark during Saturday's postgame news conference. Still, the WNBA veteran talked about the Fever rookie on social media, further fueling the fire of those upset by Carter's foul.

As such, it appears that a new rivalry is forming between the two star guards. Here's what to know about the brewing beef between Carter and Clark. 

STREAM: Watch 2024 WNBA games live on Sling

Chennedy Carter foul on Caitlin Clark

Carter and Clark's beef started after the Sky guard fouled Clark during their matchup on Saturday, June 1. The foul occurred with 15.8 seconds left in the third quarter, as Carter slammed into Clark before an inbounds pass.

It appeared Clark and Carter had been jawing on the way up the court the previous possession. After knocking Clark down, Carter shouted something at her while some of her teammates, including Reese, stood and applauded the move. 

Below is a look at the play:

Carter was whistled for a common foul on the play. It was reviewed to see if it met the criteria for a Flagrant 1 foul — which would have given Indiana two foul shots and the ball — but the officials did not upgrade it.

MORE: What is a flagrant foul in the WNBA?

Clark expressed her displeasure with the common foul ruling after the game.

"That's just not a basketball play," Clark said. "But gotta play through it."

Carter seemed to want to let things go after the contest ended.

“I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions," she said.

Nonetheless, Carter chose to express her thoughts about Clark on social media. The Sky guard posted to Threads to supposedly close the book on her feud with the Fever rookie, but Carter took a shot at Clark in her response to a post.

"Beside 3-point shooting, what else does she bring to the table, man?" Carter wrote of Clark, followed by a laughing emoji.

Carter didn't limit her comments to Threads. She also made several posts on X (formerly Twitter) about the play and its aftermath. She retweeted several accounts defending her, including one that said Carter "owns Clark."

Here are a few of Carter's posts from after her foul on Clark:

That led Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon to release a statement Monday saying she had spoken to Carter about the on-court incident.

Physical play, intensity, and a competitive spirit are hallmarks of Chicago Sky basketball. Chennedy got caught up in the heat of the moment in an effort to win the game. She and I have discussed what happened and that it was not appropriate, nor is it what we do or who we are. Chennedy understands that there are better ways to handle situations on the court, nd she will learn from this, as we all will.

As a team, we will grow together and continue to work hard to display strong leadership and set a positive example for our competitors, fans, and partners.

Still, Clark may not take kindly to Carter's extra trash talk, so it will be interesting to see if the animosity between the two guards lingers into their next game on Sunday, June 16.

MORE: WNBA fans plead Fever to sign 'enforcer' after Caitlin Clark fouled

Was Chennedy Carter fined for Caitlin Clark foul?

The WNBA has not announced whether Carter was fined for her foul on Clark. The league upgraded her infraction to a Flagrant 1 foul after the game, so the WNBA has the right to enforce a fine or a suspension — if it so desires.

That said, it's worth noting that the flagrant was Carter's first of the season. That may save her from being punished significantly for hip-checking Clark.

Still, Carter will need to tread lightly moving forward. The WNBA has a strict system for players who accumulate flagrant foul points. She now has one. If she gets three points or more, she will be one hard foul away from being suspended, as outlined by The Athletic:

  • A player at 3 points who commits a Flagrant 2 foul receives an automatic one-game suspension
  • A player at 4 or 5 points who commits a Flagrant 1 foul receives an automatic one-game suspension
  • A player at 4 or 5 points who commits a Flagrant 2 foul receives an automatic two-game suspension
  • A player at 6 or more points who commits a Flagrant 1 or 2 foul receives an automatic two-game suspension

While Carter isn't in any danger of a suspension now, she will need to avoid similar — or more significant — unnecessary contact moving forward. That will give her more flexibility as the Sky looks to reap the rewards of a quality rookie class and get to the 2024 playoffs.

Chennedy Carter net worth

Not much is known of Carter's net worth, but one can assume it's close to what she has made playing professionally.

Entering 2024, Carter had WNBA career earnings of $300,358. She also has played overseas to pad her wallet, and some endorsement deals may have further bolstered her total earnings.

Carter is on a one-year, $64,154 deal with the Sky, so her total earnings of $364,512 are nothing at which to sneeze. The 25-year-old will still be thankful she doesn't have to take anything out of those earnings to pay a fine.

That's something Reese will have to do. The Sky rookie skipped postgame media obligations, which will cost her $1,000 of her $73,439 salary and cap hit for 2024.

MORE: Breaking down Caitlin Clark's total points, performance vs. Sky

Chennedy Carter stats

Carter is averaging 12.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for the Sky off the bench this season. She was more productive earlier in her career with the Atlanta Dream — she finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2020 — but clashes with her Dream and Los Angeles Sparks teammates ultimately prevented her from improving upon those numbers.

In total, Carter has played for three WNBA teams during her four seasons in the league. Below is a look at her per-game stats by year.

SeasonTeamGamesPointsReboundsAssistsStealsFG%3P%
2020Dream1617.42.33.40.947.337.5
2021Dream1114.21.33.30.745.511.1
2022Sparks248.91.91.90.645.020.0
2024Sky712.02.72.60.755.416.7
Career—5812.62.02.70.747.028.1

It seems like Carter has found a good fit with the Sky. It will be interesting to see whether the good vibes continue to last as she posts some of the most efficient numbers of her WNBA career to date.

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Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.