Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter met with the media on Monday and spoke about her hard foul on Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark from Saturday’s 71-70 Fever win.
Originally an away-from-the-play foul on Carter, it was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 upon a league review from the WNBA.
After declining to comment on the sequence on Saturday, Carter spoke at length on the foul on Monday.
“I think at the end of the day, I’m a competitor. Now that it’s another day, I’ve had an off day. Now, I can answer your questions and I can let you know how I really feel about things. I’m a competitor and I’m going to compete no matter who you are and no matter who’s in front of me. So, that’s just what it was. Heat of the moment play. We’re getting at it, we’re going back and forth. It’s basketball. It’s all hoops. After we finish the game, it’s all love,” Carter said.
Asked if she regretted the foul or anything that’s happened on social media since, Carter said she doesn’t.
“I don’t have any regrets with anything. I’m going to compete and play 100 percent hard, no matter who it is like I said or who we’re playing. No, I don’t have any regrets,” Carter said.
Thanks to the media attention that surrounds Clark and the growing fan interest in the WNBA, this story took on a life of its own. It became one of the big topics across national sports shows on Monday.
Carter discussed her reaction to the situation morphing into a national storyline and the discourse from fans across social media.
“It has became a big national story. We’ve had things that have been thrown into hoops like racism and just different things thrown to players that shouldn’t have even been brought up. This is a game I love. This is a game I’m passionate about, and, at the end of the day, I’m thankful that I’m able to display it to everybody.
“If you’re going to watch the game, watch all of the game before you make opinions. Just watch the whole game and get to know the players. Those that say you don’t know players, you haven’t watched the WNBA. Get to know there are players that are already here and already in this league and already trying to make a mark,” Carter said.
A reporter asked Carter to expand on what she meant by getting to know the players in the WNBA.
“I mean, I’m just seeing a lot of things of fans just not understanding who I am as a player. You have to understand me as a person, too, and don’t just look at one tape and form an opinion about me. I’m truly a passionate person about the game and I’m genuine. You can ask all my teammates. They’ve got to know me. They know the real Chennedy Carter. So, I’m just saying, don’t form an opinion off of one little clip and you didn’t even see the whole game and/or the play that led to that,” Carter said.
Carter was also asked if there was a lot of chippiness between she and Clark before the Flagrant 1 play.
“I mean, no, no, no. I think I got hit in the head the play before and it was just like one of those things that was in the heat of the moment. You know, I don’t know Caitlin. I don’t know her from anywhere. You know what I’m saying? But, at the end of the day, this is hoops, it’s competitive and this is basketball. You’re playing against somebody like me. I classify myself as a dawg, so if you’re going to throw a punch, then I’m going to compete with you. I’m going to play at the level that you’re giving, so that’s just the player that I am,” Carter said.
Questioned whether she felt she crossed a line with the foul, Carter said she didn’t.
“There’s no line. I’m competing. I’m gonna compete. I’ve already let you know. I’m gonna compete. If you’re going to throw punches first, I’m gonna compete. It’s all love. It’s basketball. This happens in the NBA.
“Actually, I’m focused on New York now. I’m not really focused on that play anymore. It happened, OK. It’s just a basketball (play). It just happened. It’s over with. I don’t know why we’re dragging it, but we continue to drag the play that happened. And a whole fourth quarter happened after that. Multiple events happened after that, guys. So, we’ve just got to let that play go,” Carter said.
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