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Caitlin Clark wants to clarify that, despite what people may think, she firmly believes that Dijonai Carrington, a player for the Connecticut Sun, did not intentionally poke her in the eye.

WNBA fans were up in arms after Carrington hit Clark in the face during the first quarter of Sunday’s game between the Sun and Indiana Fever — which was Game 1 of the opening round of postseason WNBA action.

UNCASVILLE, CT – SEPTEMBER 22: Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts after getting hit in the eye during the First Round and game 1 of the 2024 WNBA playoffs between Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun on September 22, 2024, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

DiJonai Carrington #21 of the Connecticut Sun faces heat for poking Caitlin Clark’s right eye. (Photo by Michael Hickey/NBAE via Getty Images)

Surprisingly, no foul was called on Carrington.

Carrington defended against Clark and poked her in the right eye, causing a black eye to form.

Based on Carrington’s past ‘beef’ with Clark, fans connected the dots and suggested that Dijonai deliberately hit the Fever sensation in the eye to disrupt her game, or worse. 

The ‘poke’ even sparked calls for Carrington to be suspended by the league to set an example for the rest of Clark’s detractors considering deliberate harm.

Asked about the scene Tuesday, Clark disagreed with the narrative that Carrington purposefully poked her eye and considered it an accident caused in the heat of the moment.

Clark still had swelling around her eye.

“It wasn’t intentional by any means,” Clark reacted. “You just watched the play, it wasn’t intentional.”

Whether Carrington’s hit was intentional or not, the eye injury appeared to impact Clark’s performance. Caitlin Clark had a tough time finding her shot, only making 4 of 17 field goals and 2 of 12 3-pointers, but she recorded 11 points in Indiana’s loss.

READ: Caitlin Clark Gets Poked In Eye By DiJonai Carrington, Struggles To Shoot In Fever Loss

Carrington was also asked if she had intended to hit Clark’s eye.

“I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye,” Carrington said. “It doesn’t even make sense to me. But no, I didn’t. I didn’t know I hit her actually. I was trying to make a play on the ball.”

Calls for Carrington’s suspension arose from concerns about a lack of protection for the WNBA’s rising star in Clark. 

The league and Carrington received criticism for the incident, particularly because the Sun player was not called for a foul.

Clark has sold out WNBA and NBA arenas and had the best rookie campaign of all time. She is rightfully seen as the future of the league, thus it’s imperative to protect her.

Similar to the early-season chatter around protecting Clark, fans have been split into three camps:

1. Those who believe Clark has a target on her back.

2. Those who believe Clark is not being targeted.

3. Those who think Clark can and will tough it out, regardless of opposing players’ varying levels of physicality. 

Caitlin seems to be embracing the third option.

Indiana and the rookie sensation will need to win Game 2 against Connecticut on Wednesday to keep their season alive.

Game on, folks. 

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