MARINA Mabrey has broken her silence on the controversial incident that saw her shove Caitlin Clark over.
The Indiana Fever‘s blowout win over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday got ugly during the second half.
Marina Mabrey shoved Caitlin Clark to the canvas[/caption]
Clark was poked in the eye by Jacy Sheldon[/caption]
Sophie Cunningham and Kacy Sheldon were both ejected following their scuffle[/caption]
With the Fever comfortably ahead, tempers boiled over.
The controversy was sparked in the third quarter, as Jacy Sheldon guarded Clark.
Sheldon, picked fifth in the 2024 WNBA Draft in which Clark went No1, attempted to smother the Fever superstar.
In doing so, the Connecticut guard appeared to poke her rival in the eye.
As Clark winced in pain, Sheldon did not back down or apologise – instead getting in her opponent’s face.
After Clark, 23, pushed her off, Mabrey came steaming in.
The 28-year-old violently shoved the Fever’s No22 to the ground, sparking a melee.
Somehow Mabrey was not ejected – with Clark harshly being handed a technical foul for her role in the incident.
The WNBA subsequently accepted that the decision was incorrect, with Mabrey’s hard foul being upgraded to a Flagrant-2 after the game.
Appearing on a live stream alongside Saniya Rivers, Mabrey appeared to address the incident for the first time.
“Well, damned if I do, damned if I don’t,” the 28-year-old said as Rivers laughed.
When Mabrey shoved Clark over, Fever star Sophie Cunningham had been confronting Sheldon.
And the two would get into it during the fourth quarter, in an incident that saw them both ejected.
As Sheldon approached the basket during a fast break, she tried to put her shoulder into Cunningham.
The Fever enforcer responded by forcefully wrapping up Sheldon and throwing her to the ground.
Sheldon angrily bounced straight up to confront Cunningham, who responded by grabbing her opponent’s head.
Both players were ejected following a review, while Sheldon’s team-mate Lindsay Allen was also dismissed.
Mabrey and Cunningham have both been fined by the WNBA for their Flagrant-2 fouls.
But Cunningham, 28, has seen her popularity soar with Clark’s incredible fanbase.
The 6ft 1in star has gained more than 200,000 Instagram followers since the incident, and has also seen her jersey sell out on the Fever’s team store.
