Caitlin Clark reveals ‘temporary welcome to W’ when injured at start of 2024 season
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rookie season was one for the record books, but she also remembers the moment she knew she was in proball.
It’s her “welcome to the WNBA” moment.
Clark appeared on a recent “New Heights” podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce and was asked when she was accepted by other WNBA players.
He knew the answer instantly.
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Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (22) disputes a call with the referee during the second half of a game against the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse June 19, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
“Someone put a screen on me, and I hit my ear right on the girl where my ear popped. And it went off,” Clark said of his Fever game against the New York Liberty June 2. “I knew right away because I had done it before. [while tubing in a lake]. It is very painful. … That was my welcome to W’s time.”
Clark said that while his ear is not bleeding, his hearing has not been the same for several weeks.
“It takes months to recover,” Clark added. “So, after the season, the doctor had to go back and forth and see if it closed. And if it didn’t close, you had to do a little procedure. But, luckily, it closed. So, I was good.”
The Liberty’s 104-68 loss against the Fever was Clark’s 11th game of his rookie season.
The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of the explosion, and Clark received attention from the coaches on the bench before needing to return to the locker room at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Former Iowa Hawkeye and current Indiana Fever WNBA star Caitlin Clark is honored during the game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Northwestern Wildcats at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2024. (Photos by Jeffrey Becker-Imagn)
Clark missed the rest of the game.
“I don’t want to explain it. It’s probably going to be worse. But, no, I feel fine,” Clark told reporters at the time of the injury. “I can’t hear it right in one of my ears.”
The injury did not prevent Clark from breaking many records, including most assists in a season.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark rushes up the court on July 12, 2024, during a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Grace Hollars/IndyStar/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
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Clark was named the All-Time Athlete of the Year and the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year. She was also named a WNBA All-Star for the first time.
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