In a city where one of its great sports legends was as famous for biting his opponents as tackling them, Chicago fans saluted one of their own Tuesday as Chennedy Carter took the floor with the Chicago Sky.
Carter had been at the center of controversy after whacking Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark to the floor last Saturday.
But on Tuesday, the city where Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus was loved for dealing out punishment to anyone playing the Bears recognized Carter for her hit on Clark with a standing ovation.
look when I tell you @ChennedyCarter landed in the right place, I MEAN IT https://t.co/cR865xrZJI pic.twitter.com/KnYI7f8vFa
— ricky, phd ✡️4🇵🇸 (@prettyrickyroo) June 5, 2024
Carter said that the reception energized her, according to the New York Post.
“It felt good to know that SkyTown supports me, the fans got loud and that ultimately just got me going, it gave me confidence, soon as I came in, they gave me confidence, so I started feeling it, I’m like the crowd’s with you, your team is with you, let’s go,” she said.
Although Carter initially responded to questions about decking Clark with bravado, by Monday she said it was just athletes being athletes.
“I’m a competitor, and I’m going to compete no matter who you are, and no matter who’s in front of me. So that’s just what it was,” Carter said then.
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“Heat of the moment play. We’re getting at it. We’re getting back and forth. It’s basketball. It’s all hoops. After we finish the game, it’s all love,” she said.
“I’m going to compete and play 100 percent hard, no matter who it is — like I said — or who we’re playing. No, I don’t have any regrets,” she said.
Clark said no apology was necessary, according to the Daily Mail.
“Sometimes emotions get the better of you, it happened to me multiple times throughout the course of my career. People are competitive, it is what it is. She is having a tremendous season, she is playing great basketball,” she said Friday.
Clark said the game is what matters to her, not hyped grudges.
“It is just not where my focus is. I think about my team, I think about ways that I can get better and it’s just basketball at the end of the day,” she said.
“There are no grudges, there is nothing like that. It’s a sport, it’s competitive, it is not going to be nice all the time. That’s not what basketball is and I think that people who play the sport at the highest level understand that,” she said.
On Friday night, Clark let her shooting do the talking, as she notched seven 3-pointers en route to a game-high 30 points as the Fever defeated the Washington Mystic 85-83.
Clark afterward said she was as pleased with the size of the crowd as she was with her performance.
“The crowds never get old; they’re great,” Clark said, per ESPN. “I think at times they might have been cheering for us. It’s fun to see people in Fever gear. It’s fun to see people screaming about women’s basketball.”
