Some Indiana Fever Fans believe they have detected at least a subtle shot at Fever coach Christie Sides, while Caitlin Clark praised her former college coach Lisa Bluder.
On Monday, Clark won the Honda Cup Award for the second consecutive year. The prestigious award is given to the top female college athlete.
Though Clark is in the WNBA, the award is for the 2023-2024 season. The WNBA is unlike other major sports leagues in that it starts very soon after rookie players graduate college.
Clark beamed as she praised her teammates while recalling her time at Iowa. However, when Clark began talking about her former coach, Lisa Bluder, some on X felt like the star point guard was sending a message to her current coach.
“I think that [the sisterhood at Iowa] is the reason we were as good as we were,” Clark said. “Coach Bluder, in my eyes, she’s the best leader I’ve ever been around in my life.”
Clark continued, “She knows how to build a team; she knows how to get individuals to work together.”
It didn’t take long for fans on X to read between the lines and interpret the praise of Bluder as a condemnation of Fever coach Christie Sides.
It seems unlikely this was a deliberate attempt to throw her coach under the bus. If for no reason other than the simple fact that Sides is likely to be canned at the end of the year anyway, without Clark saying anything.
Though, whether intentional or not, it’s clear that Clark doesn’t believe her current coach measures up to her college coach.
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