What Noise? Caitlin Clark Says 'It's Hard To Hear' After Ear Injury, But That May Be A Good Thing

If there was one place Caitlin Clark could use an injury, it is to one of her ears.

Considering all the ridiculous noise from Angel Reese, Chennedy Carter and some racially motivated media encircling a young woman who just wants to play basketball, it might be good that she can't hear everything perfectly at the moment.

"It's a little hard to hear," Clark said on Thursday ahead of her Indiana Fever (2-9) game at the Washington Mystics (0-10) tonight (7:30 p.m., Ion TV). "But it's all good."

Clark suffered a minor ear injury when she was inadvertently hit by a New York Liberty player on a screen early in the fourth quarter of the Fever's last game on Sunday - a 104-68 loss at New York. She went to the locker room briefly, returned and watched the rest of the blowout on the bench.

It was one of the few times this season that Clark was hit by accident. Last Saturday, Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter decked her with an intentionally hard body block when the ball was not even in play. Amazingly, nothing was called at the time, but the WNBA correctly issued a flagrant foul the next day after reviewing the play. Reese then hugged and congratulated her teammate Carter.

Caitlin Clark Asked About Chennedy Carter Hit

Clark spoke for the first time about the Carter hit before Friday's game with USA Today columnist and TV commentator Christine Brennan, but did not address it directly.

Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark hits the deck after Chicago sky guard Chennedy Carter knocked her down with a hard body blow while the ball was not in play Saturday in Indianapolis. (Getty Images)

"My focus is basketball," Clark said. "Sometimes it stinks how much the conversation is outside of basketball - not the product on the floor and the amazing players on the floor, and how good they are for their teams, and how great this season has been for women's basketball. Some of the crowds we've never seen before. The viewership is amazing. But I try to block that out. I don't have social media on my phone. I don't see a lot of it. Everybody's entitled to their own opinion. That's just what it is. You've just got to be focused on what's in your locker room - how your teammates feel, how your coaches feel. That's my focus. I have a job to do at the same time. That's my focus."

Reese also sent Clark flying to the floor in the same game with a hard and high arm throw, but at least the ball was somewhat in play as Reese supposedly battled for position. Nothing was called.

"I wouldn't say surprised," Clark - the first pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 15 out of Iowa - said Thursday when asked about her expectations of physical play when entering the WNBA. "I knew the physicality was coming, and I was prepared for it."

But maybe not for the cheap shots from Carter and Reese.

Carter never showed any remorse for the hit on Clark. Then ESPN's Jemele Hill said Carter - not Clark - was the real victim.

RELATED: Chennedy Carter The Victim, Says Jemele Hill

Meanwhile, Reese said she is one of the reasons the WNBA TV ratings have been skyrocketing, when the evidence clearly shows it is because of Clark - the all-time NCAA scoring leader for the men's and women's game.

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Indiana coach Christie Sides, a 12-year assistant in the WNBA before getting the Fever job in 2023, has been surprised by the rough play against Clark.

"The incident was away from the ball," Sides said Wednesday after Carter's takedown of Clark. "It was a non-basketball play."

Meanwhile, national radio show host Dan Patrick weighed in on Reese's ridiculous statement that she is one of the main reasons more people are watching the WNBA. 

"People are noticing the game now because of Caitlin Clark, not Angel Reese," he said, which is something OutKick has said numerous times.

Patrick also described Reese's behavior toward Clark in the LSU-Iowa national championship game in 2023 the same way OutKick has numerous times. 

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"Her (Reese's) attention, her notoriety is based off Caitlin Clark, because she wins the national title, and the first thing she does is mock Caitlin Clark," Patrick said. "And then, she doesn’t even celebrate with her teammates. So, she’s made it personal with Caitlin Clark. Then, she’s played off of that."

Clark, on the other hand, just wants to play basketball.

"I don't really hear the noise," Clark said. "I just come here and play basketball every day, and that's what I focus on. So everything else - all the external noise doesn't faze me."