Arike Ogunbowale sees no issues with the WNBA’s physical play, and called out fans who might feel otherwise.
There’s been a lot of talk since last weekend regarding physical play in the league following Chicago Sky player Chennedy Carter hitting Caitlin Clark with a cheap shot.
Many fans believe Clark is being targeted by opponents. It’s hard to argue that’s not the case. Despite being the most famous player in the WNBA and elevating the league, some people seem insanely jealous and full of envy.
Well, the Dallas Wings superstar doesn’t think the physical play in the WNBA is anything new.
Arike Ogunbowale discusses WNBA’s physical play.
Ogunbowale suffered a hard foul from Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark during a Wednesday game, and was asked about it after the game.
“I don’t know how long you’ve been around the WNBA but this has been like this since my rookie year,” Ogunbowale told the media, according to the New York Post.
She added, “I mean, obviously that’s what I’ve been able to go against but I’ve seen it since I’ve been watching the WNBA since I was young, literally nothing new. Like you get fouled, that’s what it is. The men get fouled, I don’t see people saying ‘oh, why did he do this?’ It’s basketball, it’s gonna be physical. We’re gonna compete, some people might get knocked down, some people bleed and that’s basketball.”
From there, the former Notre Dame Star seemed to take issue with some of the fans concerned with things going too far on the court.
Ogunbowale said the following when talking about new fans and the media:
“I don’t really talk about media, but it just kind of annoys me how they make such a big deal about the physicality because I mean, obviously the new people, they might be like, ‘Oh, this is tough,’ but this is just what it’s been. It’s basketball. Like I said it’s basketball. It’s not women being catty, it’s not this, it’s basketball. So the narrative has to stop of people doing this or doing that. Like it’s gonna be physical so if you don’t want to go watch this go watch golf or something.”
Arike Ogunbowale talks about the physicality of playing in the league. (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
The problem with Ogunbowale’s assessment is that she doesn’t seem to get the point: There’s nothing wrong with playing physically. Basketball is a physical sport.
Every now and then someone is going to get hurt. There’s no way to avoid it. But there’s a big difference between a tough play that leads to a hard foul and what Chennedy Carter did to Caitlin Clark.
Carter launched a vile and nasty attack on an Indiana Fever rookie that should be condemned by all sports fans and should not be watched as a fan of golf if you think it’s awful.
“That is, we care about the safety of our players. I don’t understand why this is a difficult concept to grasp. Intense physical play is fine and should be encouraged. Headhunting is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Hopefully, the WNBA can figure out a way to protect their players from unfair attacks. Do you agree? Or not? Let me know. david.hookstead@outkick.com.
