UConn's Geno Auriemma says Fever's Caitlin Clark being 'targeted' - ESPN

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma said that although WNBA rookies must go through «the growing pains of being a professional basketball player,» he thinks the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark has been «targeted» with physical play.

«Is she facing the rookie challenge, the rookie hardships that are inherent with being a rookie? Yes,» Auriemma told reporters in Connecticut before the UConn Coaches Road Show on Tuesday. «She's also being targeted.»

Clark was shoulder-checked from behind by Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter before the ball was inbounded during Saturday's game. Clark was knocked down in what was a non-basketball play and was initially ruled a common foul, but it was upgraded to a flagrant foul 1 by the WNBA upon review Sunday.

After the game, Carter refused to answer questions, which Auriemma called «junior high stuff.»

Auriemma also said high-profile players entering a professional sports league are likely to attract extra attention from opposing teams, but he thinks it's more extreme with Clark, who was the No. 1 pick in this year's draft.

«I don't remember when [Michael] Jordan came into the [NBA], guys looking to go out and beat him up,» Auriemma told reporters. «I don't remember when [Larry] Bird and Magic [Johnson] came in the league and elevated the NBA, them getting targeted and getting beat up just because of who they were and the attention they were getting.

»Appreciate the fact that now's the time [for the WNBA]. I get it. It's long overdue. Why are you blaming that kid? It's not her fault, because you would trade places with her in a minute, but you are not there. You're not her. So, you're [complaining] that she's getting what she's getting."

By contrast, some of Auriemma's most prominent