Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull accused other WNBA teams of targeting her squad and star teammate Caitlin Clark out of jealousy. Hull made the comments, accurate as they are, but sure to cause controversy, in a recent Glamour profile.

As has been well-documented on these very pages, Clark has endured aggressive physical play at an exponentially higher rate from opponents on the court, including hard fouls and hip checks.

Not to mention the eye pokes.

“I think there is a level of jealousy when it comes to the Fever, just because of the media attention and the fans that have shown up for us ever since Caitlin got here,” Hull explained in the interview. “We’ve heard people and players and teams talking in their locker room about, ‘We can’t let the Fever win.’”

Thinks it can elevate everyone’s game

Hull views this rivalry with the entire league as a positive force, claiming it motivates everyone to bring their A-game against the Fever.

“If you have extra motivation to beat us because of something out of our control, that’s fine, if that’s what it takes for you guys to come and try extra hard,” she added.

“I think a little bit of that is needed across the league… Everyone should feel like they’re getting everyone else’s best, and I do feel like we get everyone else’s best.”

If you want to get motivated by jealousy, great. If you want to play a little more physically because you’re motivated to prove something, also great.

It becomes a problem, though, when the physicality is unwarranted. When it’s not just a hard basketball play, but Clark gets clocked for no reason.

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Are they jealous of the Indiana Fever? Or just Clark?

Lexie Hull’s standout performance helped propel the Indiana Fever to the 2024 playoffs semifinals, earning her a spot in Glamour’s “Women of the Year” series.

It should be noted that Clark spent nearly her entire sophomore season on the bench due to a groin injury. An injury that some critics suggested was caused by referees allowing overly physical play against the WNBA star. Hull stepped in to fill a void.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard comments similar to Hull’s

Hull and Clark’s teammate, Sophie Cunningham, who quickly became known as the “enforcer” for her Indiana Fever teammates last season, said other teams were targeting the league’s biggest ticket seller.

“You have seen players in our league try to, like, toughen up Caitlin,” she said. “Even when I wasn’t on her team, I know the talks that Phoenix had in the locker room, like ‘no, we’re going to show her what the W really is.’”

“And I get it to a certain extent, and every rookie coming into the league, that’s how you’re going to treat ’em, but there’s just more for her,” Cunningham added.

It is, as Shaquille O’neal once explained, a lot of “professional jealousy.”

The refs have let players go after Caitlin Clark without levying severe penalties for way too long. Something needs to change next season.