By Jacob Lev, CNN
(CNN) — Speaking at his customary press conference ahead of the opening of the NBA Finals on Thursday, league commissioner Adam Silver called the flagrant foul made by Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter on Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark last weekend a “Welcome to the league” moment, adding that it’s “nothing new in basketball.”
Carter’s off-ball foul against Clark on Saturday has drawn outcry from critics who argue that Carter appeared to go out of her way to throw her hip and shoulder into Clark, whose back was turned and who tumbled to the ground after the foul.
Silver addressed a wide gamut of topics including Clark’s rising star in the league, the future of the NBA and an impending media rights deal.
“Of course, I want to see Caitlin (Clark) treated fairly and appropriately in the league,” Silver told reporters. “I would say it seems like she can take care of herself. She’s a tough player.”
Following the Saturday foul, Clark told reporters she was doing her best not to let it get to her
“If you went back and looked at our original business plan from 28 years ago, we didn’t think it would be such a long timeline to break into the popularity we’re seeing now. Ultimately, I don’t want to make too big of an issue about one particular player, one particular call. But I think the burgeoning rivalries within professional basketball, you see rivalries obviously among clubs but also among individual players, too, and I think that can be ultimately good for the sport,” the commissioner continued.
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