Caitlin Clark may be sidelined for the rest of the season with a groin injury, but that hasn’t kept her away from the action. The Indiana Fever guard has been glued to the bench during the playoffs, cheering every possession and celebrating with her teammates as if she were still on the floor.
After the Fever stormed back to stun the Atlanta Dream in Game 3 of their first-round series, Clark jumped into the comments of a team Instagram post. She hyped up the reserves as an “elite bench mob” and couldn’t resist taking a swipe at the officials, writing that “even the refs couldn’t stop us.”
That little jab wound up costing her. The league hit Caitlin Clark with a $200 fine for publicly criticizing the officiating — a rare penalty for someone not even suiting up.
News of the fine spread fast, and plenty of people thought it was more funny than serious. Former Las Vegas Aces forward saw Yahoo’s post about it and chimed in:
“$200 is sooo funny though lol. Keep on letting em know @caitlinclark22 😂😂😂 you got that!!”
Clark herself wasn’t bothered either. She revealed the fine in an X post on Saturday, laughing it off and promising even more energy from the Fever sidelines.
“Got fined $200 for this lol😂😂😂😂😂BENCH MOB WILL BE EVEN MORE ROWDY TOMORROW LETS GOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Clark wrote.
“Starting a GoFundMe now”: Caitlin Clark’s injured teammate joins mockery after $200 fine
Caitlin Clark wasn’t the only one laughing. Her teammate Sophie Cunningham, who tore her MCL last month and has been out since, reposted Clark’s message and added her own sarcasm:
“that’s gonna really break the bank for her. starting a GoFundMe now!”
that’s gonna really break the bank for her. starting a GoFundMe now! https://t.co/CllJWmIm6I
— Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) September 20, 2025
Sophie Cunningham has her own history with league discipline, racking up multiple fines this season for blasting officiating standards. Now sidelined, she remains part of Indiana’s “Injured 5” alongside Clark, Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson, and Chloe Bibby.
For Clark, the $200 slap on the wrist only adds fuel. If anything, it’s made the Fever bench even louder — and with the postseason heating up, that energy might just keep Indiana’s run alive.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through sabelreyes22@gmail.com. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
