Ex-NBA Player Matt Barnes Challenges Caitlin Clark's Teammates To Step Up And Protect WNBA Phenom

A prominent storyline in this first month of WNBA basketball has been the league's bullying of first-overall pick Caitlin Clark. 

It is so much so that notorious NBA bullies are calling out the ‘petty’ behavior aimed at the WNBA phenom and pushing Clark's teammates to step up their support.

READ: Chennedy Carter Posts That Caitlin Clark Brings Nothing To WNBA (Attendance, Ratings Must Not Count)

One former NBA enforcer — not named Draymond Green, who also voiced his support for Caitlin Clark — is calling out Clark's teammates for not defending her during a physical Saturday afternoon loss to the Chicago Sky. 

Indiana Fever teammates stood by as Sky player Chennedy Carter ‘hip-checked’ Clark during the game, while Sky teammate Angel Reese celebrated Carter's cheap shot. 

BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 2: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever looks on during the game against the New York Liberty during the 2024 Commissioner's Cup game on June 2, 2024 in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JUNE 01: Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter (7) is whistled for a flagrant foul for knocking Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) to the ground on June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Barnes acknowledged the unusually physical play against Clark and found it baffling that her teammates failed to protect their star player.

"Throughout the season, she’s been getting beat up," Barnes said in a video posted on Instagram. "Hard screen. Elbows. Knocked down. It is what it is. She’s not the first. She won’t be the last. My issue is and my question is ‘where the f**k are her teammates at? Where y’all at? Where are the rest of the Indiana Fever at?’"

Clark's effect on the WNBA has galvanized supporters of the WNBA as the league's first real bankable star.

"I’ve seen a couple girls smirk when she’s got knocked down," Barnes added, "Half a** to pick her up. Like, y’all supposed to protect the asset. Protect the star. And although this is a team, she’s the star. You always protect your star."

Former NBA player Matt Barnes challenges Clark's teammates to step up their support.  (Photo by Tara Ziemba/Getty Images)

Draymond Green expressed a similar message to Barnes' advice, urging the Indiana Fever to sign an enforcer whose sole purpose on the team is to protect Clark and retaliate when necessary.

(That's how bad it's gotten.)

On and off the court, Clark has been targeted by fellow players and coaches who (frankly) appear jealous of the attention Clark draws to the league or make up ways to undermine C.C.'s appeal.

Chennedy Carter pushed Clark during the game and refused to answer questions concerning the Indiana Fever star. 

WNBA players' vicious perspectives on Clark have contested the league's prospects of banking on her stardom. While leagues like the NBA cultivate their talent, the WNBA seemingly cannibalizes it. 

Until Clark's teammates step up to protect her, it'll continue to be open season on Caitlin Clark. 

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