WNBA upgrades foul that sent Caitlin Clark tumbling to floor against Connecticut Sun

The WNBA has upgraded a foul by the Connecticut Sun’s Marina Mabrey on Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. Mabrey’s foul was initially ruled a Flagrant 1 but has since been updated to a Flagrant 2 after league review, according to a report from ESPN.

Mabrey will owe the league money now, as Flagrant 2 fouls are accompanied by a standard fine. Mabrey’s shoulder shove of Clark was hotly debated after it occurred on Tuesday night.

The shove came at the end of a sequence in which Clark was inadvertently poked in the eye. NBA TV announcers were floored that Mabrey wasn’t ejected for her shove on Clark, which sent the second-year star tumbling across the floor.

The Mabrey foul occurred during the third quarter of the game. Caitlin Clark was dribbling into the frontcourt, where she was defended by Jacy Sheldon. Sheldon and Clark had gotten into it earlier in the game.

As Sheldon attempted to prevent entry into the lane, her arm accidentally shot forward and caught Clark in the face. Refs immediately blew the whistle.

Immediately after the contact, Sheldon got into the chest of Caitlin Clark and bumped her, sending her toward another pocket of players. At that point, as Clark was holding her face and complaining about the contact, Mabrey delivered a shoulder, sending Clark tumbling to the floor.

After the refs convened and went to the monitors, the initial foul by Sheldon was ruled a flagrant. The foul by Mabrey was not ruled an ejection, so she was allowed to remain in the game. Caitlin Clark, Marina Mabrey and Tina Charles were all assessed technical fouls for the dustup.

Later in the game, the Fever’s Sophie Cunningham was hit with a flagrant foul and an ejection after a separate incident with 46 seconds left in the game. The WNBA also announced its disciplinary measures for that.

Cunningham was separately fined for her Flagrant 2 foul, but she will not face further suspension. No one involved from Tuesday night’s incidents will be suspended.

Cunningham got caught up in things as Sheldon drove toward the basket for a layup, Cunningham wrapped her arms around the Sun guard and appear to drag her toward the ground. Sheldon immediately hopped up off the floor and charged toward Cunningham, who looked to grab her hair as several other players got involved.

Both players had to be separated and were ultimately ejected as a result of the play. Indiana would go on to win 88-71.

Luckily, there will be no further fallout for Caitlin Clark or her squad. Or for the Sun, for that matter.