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Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert came to the defense of WNBA star Caitlin Clark. The Indiana Fever's player has faced a lot of hostility during her short career in the WNBA and Evert hopes someone like Billie Jean King helps Clark make a mark in the sport at its highest level.
On Friday, May 31, Fever played Chicago Sky in a thrilling 71-70 win for Indiana. However, one of the key talking points was an incident involving Fever's Clark and Sky's Chennedy Carter.
Carter pushed Clark, which caused her to fall on the court and the referee gave a foul. The foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1 offense after the match.
Following that, former World No. 1 Martina Navratilova came to the defense of Clark and said she was on the receiving end of a 'cheap shot'. The 18-time Grand Slam champion wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
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"The players in the WNBA need to realize that Caitlyn Clark is helping all of them, now and in the long run. Caitlyn is the tide that will raise all boats!"
A fan reposted Navratilova's quote and wrote about how Billie Jean King helped Chris Evert to be the best version of herself.
"Much the same as when @BillieJeanKing told the #Original9 & other early @WTA players to embrace instead of criticize @ChrissieEvert because she in '71-74 (& then you from '75 onward) raised the bar for #tennis!"
Evert took note of her mention and reaffirmed how King stood up for her in her tough times. She also hoped that Clark would find someone similar.
"Yes, there was jealousy towards me... It didn't feel good. I was just a teenager. BJK stood up for me ❤️I hope women's basketball follows suit. @CaitlinClark22 is making the sport better," Evert wrote on X.
Like Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert also disapproves of Chennedy Carter's foul on Caitlin Clark
Chicago Sky player Chennedy Carter's foul on Caitlin Clark, which was completely disapproved by Martina Navratilova, received a similar reaction from Chris Evert.
Evert reposted a video of the foul on X and wrote:
"Not cool....."
Clark also received plaudits for keeping her composure during the game.
"I wasn’t expecting it," Clark said after the game (via CBS News). "It is what it is. It’s a physical game. Go make the free throw and execute on offense, and I feel like that’s kind of what we did."
