Sky's Chennedy Carter has 'no regrets' about foul on Caitlin Clark; Angel Reese will 'take the bad guy role'
It's been two days since the Chicago Sky lost 71-70 to the Indiana Fever, and the Sky have finally broken their silence about the most talked-about play from that game: Chennedy Carter's upgraded flagrant foul on Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.
Head coach Teresa Weatherspoon was the first to speak about it on Monday, releasing a statement about how she addressed the play with Carter.
"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, and 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."
Carter gave Clark a hard shove at the end of the third quarter without the ball in play. Clark landed on the floor and Carter was called for a personal foul. The WNBA upgraded the foul to a flagrant-1 after further review on Sunday. No one on the Sky commented about Clark or the foul following the game.
Chennedy Carter on the sequence with Caitlin Clark in the 3rd quarter: “I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions.”
Full clip: pic.twitter.com/4bRnyXgPjV— Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) June 1, 2024
Angel Reese skipped her postgame media commitments completely, which is against WNBA media policy. The league announced Sunday that Reese had been fined $1,000 for skipping interviews and the Sky had been fined $5,000 for allowing her to violate the WNBA's media policy.
But both Reese and Carter were front and center on Monday afternoon, addressing the media together and speaking their minds about what happened Saturday. Carter began by saying she had "no regrets."
Chennedy Carter and Angel Reese chose to speak with media together following practice:
Carter said she has “no regrets”
“I’m going to compete and play 100% hard no matter who it is or who we’re playing.” @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/9rT0dMdrav— Jori Parys (@JoriParys) June 3, 2024
Carter followed that up by saying she has "no complaints" even though the Sky have been the subject of a lot of negative talk over the past few days.
#Sky guard Chennedy Carter: “We've been able to take a lot of hits in the last 24, 48 hours. I'm over here smiling, I'm not complaining. ... At the end of the day, it's all love outside of basketball. When we're in those four lines, it's smoke. After, it's all love."
— Mike McGraw (@McGrawDHSports) June 3, 2024
Reese, who was seen cheering on the sideline when Carter fouled Clark, then said she's willing to play whatever role the game needs her to play. If she needs to be the villain, then that's exactly what she'll do.
Action-packed interviews w/ #Sky today. Angel Reese: "Yeah, negative things have probably been said about me. But honestly, I'll take that, because look at where women's basketball is. … I'll take that role. I'll take the bad guy role and I'll continue to take that on."
— Mike McGraw (@McGrawDHSports) June 3, 2024
The Sky's next game is against the New York Liberty on Tuesday night.