Why Marina Mabrey wasn’t ejected for Caitlin Clark shove in contentious scene

It was fight night in Indianapolis on Tuesday. 

Except it came during a WNBA game. 

The Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever faced off Tuesday night and the first half was mainly normal, as the teams competed in a close game.

But when the second half arrived, that all changed in a heartbeat. 

Halfway through the third quarter, as Fever Caitlin Clark had possession of the ball, she was poked in the eye by Jacy Sheldon. 

Both Clark and Sheldon exchanged words after the foul and it quickly became heated.

As Suns center Tina Charles tried to mediate the situation, Marina Mabrey ran in and shoved Clark to the ground. 

When the dust settled, Sheldon received a flagrant one foul and Mabrey, Clark, and Charles all were given technical fouls. 

It surprised many that Mabrey was not ejected from the game, but crew chief Ashley Gloss told the Indianapolis Star that the actions didn’t warrant her being ousted.

“The contact made by Mabrey did not rise to the level of an ejection,” Gloss said, “Additionally, [it] did not meet the criteria for a flagrant foul penalty two.”

But that fight was not the last of the night. 

With just 47 seconds remaining in the Fever’s 88-71 win, Sheldon drove toward the hoop for a layup.

Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham then came from behind and yanked her hair and pulled Sheldon to the ground. 

Another scuffle ensued, leading to three ejections.

Cunningham was ejected and received a flagrant 2 foul for pulling Sheldon’s hair, while Sheldon and the Sun’s Lindsay Allen were also booted for fighting. 

The Fever’s win and Clark’s 20-point outing were ultimately overshadowed by the fights that occurred.

WNBA referees have received criticism for the feistiness allowed during games, which continued Tuesday.

“Everybody’s getting better, except the officials,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “We’ve heard every coach talk about it. I don’t know what the answer is.”