"CC and Mabrey were hugging the week before": Ex-WNBA player claims Marina Mabrey and Caitlin Clark dust-up wasn't 'personal'

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey had an encounter during their game on Tuesday. The clash triggered a frenzy among fans, members of the media and former players.

Former Minnesota Lynx player Val Whiting weighed in on the Clark-Mabrey altercation. She tweeted on Saturday that Mabrey was simply defending her teammate Jacy Sheldon, and it wasn't personal. Her comments came in response to a post on X by former Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett.

"What you don’t know is that I got in a fight defending a teammate that I didn’t even like," Whiting tweeted. "I couldn’t stand her but she was MY teammate. Standing up for your teammates matters." "We all know that Sophie Cunningham was standing up for her teammate," Whiting added. "What is not talked about is that Mabrey was standing up for hers as well. It’s not even personal. CC and Mabrey were hugging the week before."

Caitlin Clark got into a scuffle with Sun guard Jacy Sheldon after being poked in the eye. Marina Mabrey stepped in and forcefully shoved Clark to the floor.

Mabrey received a technical foul and Sheldon was hit with a flagrant foul. Clark was also penalized with a technical foul for her unsportsmanlike manner towards Sheldon.

Later on, Sophie Cunningham retaliated against Sheldon. She put her in a chokehold as she drove towards the basket, leading to another altercation and ejections for Cunningham, Sheldon and Lindsay Allen.

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Sun coach responds to Caitlin Clark-Marina Mabrey scuffle

Connecticut Sun coach Rachid Meziane defended Marina Mabrey's actions against Catlin Clark.

"She just tried to be between two players," Meziane commented. "The ref has to do their job to clean the game, and make sure that the best team won the game and not just who is more physical."

Fever coach Stephanie White had contrary opinions on the issue.

"I've seen quite a few dust-ups in the league so far, so I think it's a league-wide issue," White said. "Bad officiating is bad officiating."

The Fever won the game 88-71. Caitlin Clark recorded 20 points, one rebound and six assists. Attention will be drawn to their next game as the Fever travel to face the Sun on July 15.

Edited by Krutik Jain