When Caitlin Clark’s ardent fanbase caught wind of Christie Sides being critical of the point guard’s game, they went after the Indiana Fever coach. “This will get Sides fired. Caitlin must be allowed to play her game,” one user claimed on X, formerly Twitter. “The over coaching starts! That is a characteristic of the WNBA!” another added. Several fans believed a coach questioning a star player’s shot selection would not happen in the NBA. “@StephenCurry30 they let Steph do his thing, should be the same,” an X user commented.
The criticism of Sides’ coaching went further than just snarky jabs on social media. Fans went to the coach’s Wikipedia page and added an unflattering bio. “The only coach that could possibly ruin what the [WNBA] is on track to accomplish by ruining Caitlin Clark’s game,” the page read (via BroBible).
Sides had brought up flaws in Clark’s game before. Following a preseason contest where the coach had to sub the point out, Sides mentioned her conditioning. “I think she got to the point where she was just completely gassed,” the coach told the press on May 3. “She just won’t be able to last the way people are guarding her,” Sides added. Clark herself admitted she was fatigued going into her first WNBA season. “I haven’t slept much, which is maybe a good thing, maybe a bad thing,” she said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on April 17. Clark had also faced criticism from fellow WNBA players before playing a game.
