Clark

Caitlin Clark will be in the lineup when the Indiana Fever face the Sparks at Crypto.com Arena after a week-plus of discourse around the star player.

Clark, who has had season-long back problems, did not play on Sunday in Las Vegas. Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark would play on Wednesday against the Sparks.

Earlier in the day, a dozen Republican lawmakers announced they sent a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert arguing the league has failed to adequately protect Clark from physical play.

“Unfortunately, what they too often witness is not simply aggressive competition, but repeated acts of unnecessary physical hostility and violence,” the lawmakers wrote. “Clark has been hip-checked, poked in the eye, and struck in the throat during games. These incidents go far beyond routine physical play, yet the WNBA and its officiating have too often failed to address these unacceptable incidents and hold players accountable.”

When asked about the letter after their shootaround in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, White stepped aside for team spokesperson Jackie Maynard to read a statement:

“Our organization, nor Caitlin, have had any interaction with anyone in the congressional group and were unaware of their letter. We have been clear in our public comments and in our ongoing dialogue with the league about the priority of player safety. Our players and our fans know where we stand on these issues and continue to stick up for our team and a standard of excellence across the league.”

Alyssa Thomas was given a flagrant foul 2 penalty, fined $1,000 and suspended one game at the start of July for pushing her right fist into Clark’s throat when they both fell on the court during the Mercury’s 111-109 win on June 24 in Indianapolis.

It was originally not called a foul, and a still image of Thomas’ hand in Clark’s throat went viral on social media and stirred up discourse among those in and out of the basketball world.

In the aftermath, Thomas said she got several online attacks, some of which are “threatening our lives.”

White denounced “unacceptable” online behavior from fans last week, and Clark followed up by saying, “I don’t want anyone to ever experience that.”

The letter was led by Texas congressman August Pfluger, chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

“As Commissioner, you have an obligation to ensure that every player competes in a safe and professional environment, both on and off the court, free from violence, discrimination, or retaliation,” the lawmakers wrote. “If discrimination or retaliation is occurring and creating a hostile work environment, we support any appropriate investigation by the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If true, such conduct could constitute violations of federal civil rights laws.”

The letter finished with three questions for Engelbert, which it demanded the commissioner respond to by July 24. What is your review mechanism for physical hostility and violence on the court? How will you hold players accountable for overly aggressive actions on the court, including towards Caitlin Clark? What steps are you taking to protect WNBA players from online harassment and off-the-court threats?

Conservative commentator Riley Gaines posted the letter and her support of it on social media, which showed signatures from Iowa lawmaker Zach Nunn and Indiana representatives Marlin Stutzman and Victoria Spartz.

White said that Clark would not play on Thursday night in Phoenix, rotating her with star center Aliyah Boston to manage both of their workloads on the team’s first set of back-to-back games.

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White has denounced the racist hate and abuse directed at Alyssa Thomas since the Phoenix Mercury forward committed a flagrant foul against star guard Caitlin Clark.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable,” White told the media before the team’s practice on Wednesday. “I think as a league as a whole, there’s been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia — straight-out hate nonsense. And it is absolutely unacceptable.”

White attributed most of the hateful comments to online agitators rather than true WNBA or Indiana Fever fans.

“I believe this is people who are using our league, using our players, to further divisive agendas,” White said, while acknowledging that certain criticisms and fan dynamics are part of the game. “But it’s not hard to not be a jerk. If you are one of these people that are online doing this, do not call yourself a WNBA fan.”

A former Indiana Miss Basketball honoree, White played in the WNBA from 1999 to 2003, including with the Fever, before transitioning to coaching. She was previously the head coach of the Connecticut Sun — where she coached Thomas — before being hired by the Fever.

“Our league is about inclusiveness,” she continued. “Our league is about competition. Our league is about elevating — elevating women, elevating marginalized communities, and being inclusive of all different walks of life. That is what our league has always been about from day one. That is what our league will continue to be about.”

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White has denounced the racist abuse directed to Alyssa Thomas.

(Erik Rank / Associated Press)

Thomas was suspended for a game after the WNBA reviewed a viral moment that occurred during the Mercury’s 111-109 win over the Fever last Wednesday. Thomas and Clark were scrambling for a loose ball at around the 6:52 mark during the second quarter and Thomas’ fist pressed into Clark’s throat after she landed on her. No fouls were called at that time, and screenshots and video from the incident quickly made their rounds on social media. Upon review after the game, the WNBA assessed Thomas a Flagrant 2 foul.

The 13-year veteran and six-time All Star told reporters Tuesday that she has received death threats and racist abuse in the aftermath.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this over basketball,” Thomas, who had served her suspension Saturday, said. “A lot of us, myself included, didn’t even know the play took place until after the game. Now we’re being painted as thugs. There’s death threats out on us. It’s really unacceptable. It’s something that needs to change in this league and I’m just really sick and tired of it.”

She called out the WNBA and Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for not doing more to protect players off the court.

“We’re so concerned about the safety on the court, but time and time again, we’re having people threaten our lives,” Thomas said, explaining that her main concern was not the suspension itself. “Leaking addresses out there. Putting crazy pictures that have nothing to do with basketball. At some point, the league needs to [take] a stand … Time and time again, players are going through this and the league remains silent. I’m sick and tired of it. It’s time for them to step up and have our backs.”

Engelbert released a statement Tuesday night following Thomas’ comments.

“The WNBA vehemently condemns any and all forms of hate,” the widely reported statement read. “The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league’s top priority. We are aware of Alyssa Thomas’ comments, and what she and her teammates have experienced is completely unacceptable and not representative of the WNBA community. The league and our security team have been in contact with the Phoenix Mercury organization and remain committed to protecting all players.”

This is not the first time Thomas has spoken out about racist abuse she and her teammates have received following a match-up against the Fever. During the 2024 playoffs, while a member of the Sun, Thomas said that she had never experienced the sort of “racial comments” or “been called the things that [she’s] been called on social media” by so-called Fever fans. The Sun eliminated the Fever that year.

Clark’s fame and popularity have often led to various talking heads, commentators and even politicians who may not regularly follow the WNBA to share their hot takes whenever a situation involves the former college phenom. The ensuing discourse and social media chatter are often divisive.

Thomas’ flagrant foul occurred two days after the teams’ chippy June 22 matchup, which saw Thomas and Clark receive technical fouls along with three other players for their involvement in a scuffle during the final frame of the Fever’s 86-77 win.

“There’s a difference between trolling, and there’s a difference between hatred,” Thomas said Tuesday of the racist slurs she and other players have received. “The hatred that we’re experiencing over a play that, honestly, was a complete accident, no one even knew it happened. It’s just unfortunate. The league has to do better in this instance.”

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark called out officials following her team’s 86-77 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Monday. She was one of five players assessed technical fouls amid a fourth-quarter dustup that also involved former teammate DeWanna Bonner.

Clark was called for a personal foul at the 7:57 mark in the fourth quarter after getting tangled up with Bonner, who was trying to post up near the free-throw line. The two exchanged some words before things escalated as their teammates got involved. Clark appeared flabbergasted when she learned she received a technical foul for clapping while her teammate Myisha Hines-Allen and the Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas were in each other’s faces.

Bonner, Thomas, Hines-Allen and Fever guard Sophie Cunningham were also assessed technical fouls for their actions during the scuffle. Hines-Allen was later ejected from the game after earning another technical foul for pushing Thomas after being called for a foul in the very next play.

This marks Clark’s fifth technical of the season so far. Players who rack up eight technical fouls in a season must serve a one-game suspension.

“It’s ridiculous. I got a tech for clapping,” Clark said after the game. “We should all just go on the calendar now and pick a game that I’m going to be suspended for if I’m going to get technicals for clapping.

“If any technicals should be taken away, it should be that one,” Clark added. “I don’t understand it at all. … I’m going to play with emotion. I’m going to play with passion. And if they’re going to give me a technical foul for clapping, then so be it. That’s their choice.”

Caitlin Clark reacts during Monday’s game between the Indiana Fever and the Phoenix Mercury.

(Michael Hickey / Getty Images)

This was not the first time this season the two-time All-Star has been seen clapping toward other players or officials during a game. None of the previous occasions resulted in Clark receiving a technical foul. The star guard has been receiving more attention this season for her behavior during games outside of her play. The Fever reportedly plan to appeal the technical foul.

Clark led all scorers with 24 points while also dishing out nine assists in the Fever win, while Kelsey Mitchell added 22 points. For the Mercury, Kahleah Copper led with 20 points, while Thomas had 19 points, five rebounds and nine assists.

Bonner, a two-time WNBA champion, had signed a one-year contract with the Fever last season. She played in just nine games before parting ways with the team and eventually rejoining the Mercury, where she started her career. Fever fans could be heard booing Bonner at various times during Monday’s game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Fever coach Stephanie White said that Clark has to be aware of her technical fouls and that “there are some that we could do without.”

“There are natural things that happen that the energy of the game creates when you do get those,” White said. “But there are some that we can be a little bit more in control of. So, yes, we’ll continue to remind her, and I think she has to have an awareness.”

She also brushed off the incident as something “that … happens” in “a competitive sport.”

“As a group, we have to be able to have our moment and then regroup and play with poise and composure. It can’t continue to go on,” White said.

Dallas Wing guard Paige Bueckers and Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün are among the other players who have been assessed technical fouls this season for clapping after a play. Neither incidents involved taunting players from the opposing team, and both of those techs have reportedly been rescinded.

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — On the edge of the greatest collapse in U.S. Open history, Wyndham Clark held his nerve against a charge by Sam Burns and a Shinnecock Hills gallery that never gave him much love Sunday until he captured his second Open title in four years.

Six shots ahead at the start of the final round, Clark’s final act was two putts from just outside 50 feet for par that gave him a three-over 73 and a one-shot victory over Burns.

Clark, who won the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, became the first wire-to-wire winner of the U.S. Open since Martin Kaymer at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014.

This sure didn’t feel like that. His lead was down to a single shot after just five holes, and the stress followed him the rest of the way.

The clincher for Clark was one of his worst drives of the day on the par-5 16th. He gouged that out and narrowly cleared a bunker. His eight-iron barely stayed on the back of the green. And he rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt that gave him a two-shot lead with two holes to play.

It was a signature moment with muted applause. The gallery rooted against him all day, putting all their support behind Scottie Scheffler and his bid for the career Grand Slam. Scheffler had his own share of mistakes and never got closer than three shots all day.

Clark had the highest final round of a U.S. Open champion since Graeme McDowell closed with a 74 to win at Pebble Beach. No matter. The 32-year-old American has two U.S. Open titles, and two wins in the last month.

Burns closed with a 67, his second chance in as many years to win the U.S. Open. He missed two birdie chances on the final two holes, but what hurt just as much was a three-putt bogey on the 15th when he was trying to catch Clark.

Scheffler, in his first try to get the only major he hasn’t won, was three shots back when he rammed a 30-foot birdie putt some six feet on the 14th and three-putted for bogey and a 71.

Clark capped off quite a turnaround from a year ago. He was playing poor and looking angry, throwing a driver at the PGA Championship that made a marshal flinch, and then bashing in his locker at storied Oakmont Country Club after missing the cut in the U.S. Open last year.

Oakmont banned him until he made good — which Clark did — and he set out to work on his head and his game. Both looked better than ever at Shinnecock Hills.

He finished at four-under 276.

“New York didn’t really like me — I love you guys,” Clark said at the closing ceremony, hoisting the silver trophy. “But I get it. Some of it’s self-deserved. I did some unfortunate things last year that I really regret, and I’ve been sorry multiple times and I’m still sorry, so hopefully I can win you guys over eventually.”

But it was uncomfortable at times, not only seeing a six-shot lead disappear so quickly but a crowd so badly wanting a special day for Scheffler that it turned on Clark. One fan was ejected when he shouted, “Don’t choke, Wyndham” when it was Clark’s turn to hit on the fourth tee.

And there was a loud and instant cheer on the par-three seventh, the kind normally reserved for a shot close to the pin. This was for Clark’s tee shot rolling into a bunker, leading to a short miss for bogey that again trimmed his lead to one shot.

“I get it — they were rooting for Scottie,” Clark said. “Grand Slams only happen a few times. He’s going to get it. He’s the best player in the world. But today it’s my day.”

It almost wasn’t.

But Burns never caught him — he played even par over the last 10 holes. Tom Kim, who like Scheffler celebrated a birthday on Sunday, was on the fringes of seriously contending until he fell back with a bogey on the 17th and shot 70 to finish third.

Clark hit a superb wedge that spun back to four feet for birdie on the 10th to restore the lead to two shots. But then he went long on the 13th with a pitching wedge and couldn’t save par.

Burns last year had to deal with a rain-soaked Oakmont and a couple of shots he missed badly with so much water getting between the face of the iron and his golf ball. This time, it came down to the final two holes.

He made a weak attempt at birdie from 10 feet on the 17th to tie for the lead. His 17-foot birdie chance on the 18th rolled along the right edge of the cup at perfect speed and didn’t drop. Burns let go of his putter and dropped to his knees.

“I honestly thought I made it,” Burns said. ”Just the way it goes sometimes.”

That it went Clark’s way is hard to fathom considering where he was a year ago, where he was a month ago. He was No. 75 in the world, winless in two years, when he shot 60 in the final round to win The CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Now he goes to No. 8 in the world ranking, and the smile he wore holding that U.S. Open trophy would suggest he feels on top of the world.

Ferguson writes for the Associated Press.

Scheffler’s score was deceptively good on a day when gusting winds reached 40mph and ensured that the greens became firmer and even more perilous.

Only one other player, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo – who moved to level par for the championship after signing for a three-under 67 – broke the par score of 70.

It was attritional. As US Opens often are. Ten players began the day under par. By the end, there were only five.

The third-round scoring average was 73.61, the highest of the championship.

It took one hour and 50 minutes for the first birdie to be registered, one of only two in 70 combined holes played by the field over the opening two hours.

Scheffler’s performance was all the more impressive given he bogeyed the first two holes and his resurgence arrived entirely on the harder back nine.

A birdie on the 10th provided some impetus but his chip-in on the 14th followed by an outpouring of emotion signalled a shift in momentum.

Further birdies at the 15th and 16th helped him play the final nine holes in 32 shots, matching the lowest score of the week.

But Clark’s lead was barely threatened.

Unheralded American Stevens briefly got within two shots at four under par but he was one of several players whose challenge faded on the back nine.

Rory McIlroy was another. The Northern Irishman had a hat-trick of birdies from the fifth, one of which was a sensational 66-foot putt, to get to two under but five bogeys in his closing nine holes derailed his title hopes.

And Fitzpatrick’s hopes of adding to his 2022 US Open triumph were all but sunk by a ruinous run of three successive bogeys to start his round.

The normally unflappable Yorkshireman, playing in the final group with Clark, had started four back at three under but by the final hole his frustration was evident after he hacked out of deep rough and then overhit a chip. It led to a fifth bogey of the round as he finished eight off the pace.

Those at one under know they need to shoot low on Sunday and hope Clark makes mistakes.

Perhaps they will follow Fleetwood in taking inspiration from the last US Open held at this Long Island layout when the Englishman shot a 63 in 2018’s final round as he came from six back to finish one behind champion Brooks Koepka.

Fleetwood, who will start eight adrift said: “We’ll see what conditions bring. It’s nice when you have good memories of a place, isn’t it? I have great shots to go off and good feelings, so you know, I can draw on that.”

But equally Clark knows that if he can emulate the only three players to have finished under par at a Shinnecock Hills US Open – Ray Floyd in winning in 1986, and champion Retief Goosen and runner-up Phil Mickelson in 2004 – then the title is likely his.

Not even Shinnecock Hills and its strongest test of the week in the U.S. Open could match the toughness of Wyndham Clark on Saturday.

Clark had a collection of par saves around the turn as Scottie Scheffler was making a move and poured it on with a fairway metal to get within four feet for eagle on the par-five 16th for an even-par 70 that gave him a six-shot lead.

No one has lost more than a five-shot lead in 125 previous editions of golf’s toughest test. Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters is the only player to lose a six-shot lead in any major.

Shinnecock Hills did its part, even after the strongest wind subsided. Only two players broke par in the third round — Emiliano Grillo in 30 mph wind before the leaders teed off, and Scheffler with a 69.

Clark nearly joined them. After all his great saves, he missed a five-foot par putt on the final hole and finished at seven-under 203, the lowest 54-hole score ever at Shinnecock Hills.

Now he has one more round to add another U.S. Open title to the one he captured at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023. At his side will be Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, trying to turn Sunday into a most magical day.

Scottie Scheffler watches his shot on the first hole during the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.

(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

At stake for Scheffler is a chance — a long shot at that — to complete the career Grand Slam, on Father’s Day, which happens to be his 30th birthday.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on,” Scheffler said with a smile in his interview with NBC. “A special day. The tournament means a lot to me. Going to go out there and try to do my best and execute. I’ve been fighting like heck all week to stay in this tournament.”

Scheffler, who fell nine shots behind with a pair of bogeys at the start, shot 32 on the back nine by chipping in from 65 feet on the 14th for the start of three straight birdies. His one big lament was missing a 4-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

He moved into the last group when Shinnecock Hills did a number on everyone else.

Sam Stevens, who closed within two shots of Clark on the front, started the back nine with three straight bogeys and closed with six straight pars for a 72. Tom Kim dropped two shots at the wrong time and shot 72. Sahith Theegala had one birdie, one bogey and 16 pars for a 70. That usually works at any U.S. Open, particularly this one.

All of them were at one-under 209, leaving only five players under par.

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — The USGA set up a different golf course at Shinnecock Hills to keep it playable in strong wind. And when the wind subsided late Thursday afternoon, Wyndham Clark looked like he was playing in a different U.S. Open.

Clark seized on a more gentle course — slightly calmer and still soft with receptive greens — by pulling away late to reach six-under-par through 16 holes.

He left in darkness with a four-shot lead over seven players, one of them Oklahoma junior Ryder Cowan, another the surprisingly resurgent Dustin Johnson.

Rory McIlroy thought he had made a fine effort with a 69 in gusts that topped 30 mph in the middle of the day, when the scoring average was well above 74. The afternoon started tough until the wind kept subsiding, and players began taking aim at flags. The afternoon wave was playing at least a stroke easier than the early starters who faced relentless wind.

“Everything was kind of clicking,” said Clark, who came into the U.S. Open playing as well as anyone. “We were definitely fortunate with the wind laying down. Overall a good round.”

Shinnecock was still a brute of a test, but the red numbers on the white scoreboard were an unfamiliar site for this course. When play was suspended by darkness, 17 players were under par.

Xander Schauffele hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Friday.

(George Walker IV / Associated Press)

The lowest opening round in the previous five U.S. Opens at Shinnecock is 66, last done by three players in 2004.

Cowan birdied his last hole for a 68 to join former Sooner Max McGreevy and former Oklahoma State player Sam Stevens, the only one of that trio who faced the harsh wind of the morning wave.

Johnson, in his final year of being exempt from the U.S. Open he won at Oakmont in 2016, ran off four straight birdies and was tied with Clark after 13 holes. But Johnson failed to get up-and-down for birdie on the easy par-five fifth, where Clark made eagle. And then Johnson three-putted from short range for double bogey on the sixth to fall four shots behind.

Scottie Scheffler, who needs the U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam, battled all day and relied heavily on his short game to salvage a 72. It was his 10th consecutive U.S. Open round without breaking par, but at the time it left him only four shots out of the lead.

Clark, who won the U.S. Open in Los Angeles three years ago, changed the look of the leaderboard. He was to return Friday morning to complete the round, then head out for the second round in wind expected to be not as strong.

One key to his round might have happened some five hours before he even showed up.

Thirty minutes after the round began, play was stopped because of fog so dense it was difficult to see the fairway and the green on the par-three 11th. The two-hour delay pushed back tee times.

The forecast was for the strongest wind of the week during the brightest part of Thursday.

“I would say when I got my tee times on Tuesday, I was like, ‘Oh, could be a tough draw,’” Clark said. “That two-hour fog delay was very helpful, and it was really nice it laid down. So it definitely helped those last six, seven holes we played.”

His golf wasn’t too shabby, either. Clark started on No. 10 and opened with two quick birdies. He went out in 32 to get his name atop the leaderboard. And after missing an eight-foot birdie putt on No. 1 and failing to save par from a bunker on the long par-three second, he took off.

He hit wedge to five feet on No. 3 for birdie, made a 20-foot birdie putt on the next and then from 207 yards with some wind at his back, he hit his second on the par-five fifth to within three feet for eagle.

When Johnson faltered, Clark had plenty of breathing room — and a quick turnaround.

The wind was so strong and the conditions so severe that it took Scheffler’s group nearly three hours to complete nine holes. There was a question the round could have finished even without the fog delay.

Only 27 out of the 77 players from the afternoon wave — Jason Day withdrew because of a back injury — finished the first round.

Dustin Johnson reacts after missing a putt on the sixth hole during the second round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Friday.

(Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)

Johnson was joined by three other U.S. Open champions — Matt Fitzpatrick (2022), Gary Woodland (2019) and Jon Rahm (2021) — at two under, with all still having holes to play.

Rahm, who had a chance in the final hour at the PGA Championship, was bogey-free and reached two under by making a 60-foot birdie putt on the par-three 17th hole.

Stevens overcame a double bogey to start his round — a hole that took him over two hours to play because of the fog — and strung together six birdies for his 68.

“The greens haven’t been too firm, the fairways haven’t been too firm, so I’ve really felt like it’s pretty scorable,” said Stevens, who had only his second sub-70 round in his fourth U.S. Open. “Obviously, it’s difficult, but overall it’s an awesome place. I think the setup is great right now.”

For half of the opening round, the USGA appeared to have the ideal test. Coming off two Opens at Shinnecock when the course got out of control, it slowed greens to 10 1/2 on the Stimpmeter — rare for any major, much less the U.S. Open — and keep plenty of water on the putting surfaces.

It was all because of the wind, which did not disappoint. The sustained wind approached 25 mph, and gusts were even stronger. And if that wasn’t enough, it shifted directions in the middle of the day.

“It was tough around here without wind, and then it was blowing pretty hard — really hard,” Keegan Bradley said after a 70. “The USGA did a great job setting the course up because if the greens were any faster or firmer, we might not be playing right now.”

But they played, it became more ideal with each passing hour late in the afternoon.

“Society’s response was to come up with a sensible policy and regulatory framework that gave people confidence in oil and the benefits that oil could provide to the world, and meant that you didn’t have to worry about the personalities of the people leading the companies”, Clark said. “That’s clearly where we end up here.”

Caitlin Clark says everybody making a big deal about a heated moment on the bench between her and Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White has gotten it “blatantly wrong.”

“I know there’s a camera on me … but there’s a lot of people out there in the media or on TV that think they know a lot of things, and they’re just blatantly wrong,” the star point guard said on Monday. “It’s just another example of what everybody … want[s] to blow up and make something that is just … not in reality.”

Clark was addressing a moment that occurred during the Fever’s 100-84 loss to the Portland Fire on Saturday. The viral footage appears to show Clark and White having a heated exchange while the team is huddled on the bench. White then subs Clark out for Raven Johnson, having her take Clark’s seat, as they presumably continue to discuss their next play. Kelsey Mitchell and Makayla Timpson appear to try to calm Clark, who can be seen shaking her head while standing behind her coach.

As with many moments involving the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year, video capturing the exchange was widely circulated and discussed among fans and pundits online and on TV.

Clark dismissed the moment as just “two people being competitive, two people that really want to win” and pushed back against it being described as “a blow up.”

“I ride for Steph, I ride for these girls. Steph has my back more than anybody,” the two-time All Star said. “Nobody in … our locker room, or Steph, or our coaching staff, thought twice about it.”

Clark’s teammate Lexie Hull was also asked about the moment on Monday during an appearance on Yahoo Sports Daily, and the Fever guard indicated it wasn’t even a blip on the team’s radar.

“That’s part of the game,” Hull said after mentioning the team had been in some foul trouble. “There’s frustrations that rise, and decisions have to be made, and ultimately, this wasn’t something that carried on. This is, in the moment, something that happened, and not something that is talked about now in our locker room or talked about even later on in the game.”

White echoed her players’ sentiments Monday, saying the footage just captured her coaching.

“I was challenging a player,” White said. “It’s coaching. … My relationship with Caitlin is great. … She wants to be coached. I want her to help me be a better coach. We’re both competitive, we’re both stubborn, we’re more alike than different. Hopefully we continue to bring the best out of each other.”

White attributed the attention to Clark’s popularity and how “everything that she does gets clicks.” She also pushed back against attempts to frame these moments as “tense.”

“It’s not a new thing,” White said. “It happens in every sport … and it’s not a story.”

Clark, the 2024 No. 1 draft pick, first gained buzz for her three-point shooting during her college years at Iowa. While her popularity has carried over into her WNBA career, she has more recently been increasingly scrutinized for her demeanor and perceived disrespect toward coaches and officials rather than for her play. Her injury-plagued 2025 campaign and the Fever’s less-than-stellar start to the 2026 season haven’t helped. The Fever are currently 4-4 and ninth in the WNBA standings. The team went 20-20 in the regular season during Clark’s rookie campaign and 24-20 in 2025 (Clark played just 13 games).

“There’s immense amount of pressure, and sometimes that pressure can get you and frustrate you in different ways,” said Clark. “I want to win. This team wants to win, and I’m the point guard, so it’s on me to help this team and this franchise win.”

Hollywood has been waiting for Kane Parsons since the year he was born. The 20-year-old director is the same age as YouTube’s first videos and grew up with no barriers between his creativity and an audience. “Backrooms,” his debut feature, marks the start of a new new wave of filmmakers raised by internet feedback who are ready to reinvigorate the industry.

Young Steven Spielberg screened his 8mm reels for his neighborhood. Parsons uploaded his early shorts online where he could analyze the mass response. When one, an unsettling nine-minute experiment about a warren of dingy carpets, taffy-yellow walls and gridded drop ceilings clicked with 78 million viewers, he made sequels. A24 offered Parsons a deal before he finished high school. He’s graduating into multiplexes having spent his adolescence writing, directing, editing, composing and market-testing what people want to watch. I’d toast to that, but Parsons isn’t old enough for Champagne.

Given that backdrop, “Backrooms” would be one of the year’s most significant releases even if the movie itself was merely fine. But it’s better than fine — it’s a work of honest-to-goodness art. Working with screenwriter Will Soodik, Parsons has gone back into that banal maze to find an uncannily mature story about loss and stagnation, about how our self-serving narratives barricade us from emotional growth.

Set in 1990, “Backrooms” has the fritz of an old VHS tape. (Like so many other Gen Z kids, Parsons is nostalgic for a pre-smartphone era he never knew.) A failed architect-turned-furniture salesman named Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor, superbly expressive) tumbles through a portal in his store’s basement to the backrooms of the title — less Alice in Wonderland, more Alice in Wonderbland.

“It’s like it was made by a bunch of construction workers on acid,” he muses. The hallways lead to more hallways, the overhead fluorescents whine like hornets. Someone — or something — has piled lamps and stools into the center of one room, scattered chairs in another and embedded shoes into the floor as though the ground were made of sand. The disorder looks like the wreckage of an unknown chaos. Aboveground, Clark is trapped in his own resentments, throwing temper tantrums like a toddler. Down here, frustration feels natural.

Should he be afraid? And if so, then what of?

Distant thuds warn that Clark isn’t alone. Soon after, three other characters follow Clark into this liminal space: his loud employees Bobby and Kat (Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwell) and his exasperated therapist, Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), who is haunted by flashbacks of her agoraphobic mother. There’s also a mysterious man in a lab coat (Mark Duplass) who works for a company that factors into the backrooms’ preexisting internet lore, but doesn’t have much purpose in this script. It’s fine just to see Duplass as a gesture toward corporate apathy. More beings will appear too and cinematographer Jeremy Cox’s deliberately low-fi look forces you to do triple and quadruple takes to comprehend what you’re even seeing.

How does a 20-year-old fathom adult-sized discontent? Lord knows, but Parsons does. One theory is that today’s 20-year-olds were just launching into teenhood when the pandemic teleported them from their classrooms to isolated computer screens. Meanwhile, they overheard their parents fret that society might be forever hollowed out. When a young person looks toward the future, what do they see? Probably not an office building bustling with entry-level jobs.

Think about how the act of buying a couch no longer involves interacting with a salesman like Clark, but peering at a pixelated living room that doesn’t actually exist with a couch that changes colors at a tap. Think about how lately the internet at large feels human-less. Then layer that emptiness over the images here.

Sparse yet gripping, “Backrooms” and its minimalist story accommodate the audience’s own free-ranging imagination. The infinite size of these drab catacombs triggers sense-memories of feeling small and confused in an ordinary place that feels all wrong. It’s a time travel trip back to childhood — mass entertainment made intimate — with Parsons tossing us scraps of Clark and Mary’s personal histories like a breadcrumb trail. I remembered what it felt like to get lost in a motel on a road trip with my grandparents. More recently, I tidied the home of a friend who was in the hospital, the pill bottles and crumpled blankets left in situ as evidence of someone else’s pain. “Backrooms” felt like that, too.

There’s an incredible special effects shot where the camera sinks through the floor of Mary’s living room to find a mutation of the same room — and then another and another — each replica deteriorating further from reality until it becomes a new room altogether that would fit right into the backrooms. This, we wordlessly understand, represents how memories of the past can be at once factually inaccurate and emotionally true. We’ve all been bewildered kids, Parsons more recently than most. Some of the most powerful people on Earth still behave like they’re stuck in that headspace.

Describing “Backrooms” as a horror film doesn’t feel exactly right. It’s a surrealist painting in motion, the equivalent of staring at Salvador Dali’s wasteland of melting clocks until it makes gut-sense. Dali made that famous masterpiece, “The Persistence of Memory,” in 1931, a breath-holding moment between wars when daily life looked normal enough but vibrated with the dread that no, things were definitely not OK. Kids don’t know that, but they vibe with Dali anyway because he keys into their suspicion that the world doesn’t really obey the rules.

That anxiety hums through “Backrooms.” It’s why millions of people watched and shared the original short. Yet as fraught as it sounds — and as abruptly as it ends — I left elated. A major new moviemaking talent has arrived and he’s the beginning of a movement. Other internet-honed young filmmakers will follow with their own fresh insights into genres like action, comedy and romance. Kane Parsons is just the first one through Hollywood’s labyrinth.

Rylan Clark is the latest celebrity to be grilled on ITV’s The Assembly, where autistic and neurodivergent interviewers pose no-holds-barred questions

Rylan Clark was left stunned when probed about his ex-husband on ITV’s The Assembly. The Radio 2 star, 37, is the latest celebrity to be grilled on the experimental programme, where autistic and neurodivergent interviewers pose no-holds-barred questions to a host of famous faces.

Rylan knew he would be asked some difficult questions on the show, but when one interviewer brought up the topic of him cheating on his ex, Dan Neal, who he split with in 2021 after six years of marriage – he was floored.

Caught completely off-guard, Rylan was asked: “When you told your husband you cheated on him, he divorced you. Is honesty always the best policy?”

“Oh, wow”, Rylan replied, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I think it is. I’m okay admitting I’m in the wrong, because actually I don’t deal well with guilt and I don’t deal well with secrets.”

After his split with Dan, the TV star took a lengthy sabbatical from all his television work and admitted he’d grappled with suicidal thoughts. Telling the interviewer he had been “really ill”, he shared: “It made me so ill, like so ill. It sounds a terrible thing to say, but I’m glad it happened.”

In another curveball, the former X Factor icon then admitted he didn’t “regret anything” as he shed more light on their break-up. Lifting the lid on life post-divorce, he said: “Do you know, I never think of him.

“So, this is like, my whole body just went [tense]. I miss feeling like I’ve got it all. I thought I had life done – I’ve got the job, I’ve got the family, I’ve got the marriage, I’ve got the car, I’ve got the house.

“I thought I had it sussed. I didn’t have anything sussed. I didn’t know what was a real relationship, and I can look back now and know that I don’t regret anything.

“I don’t regret anything, so I’ll leave that up to your imagination.”

Speaking to a make-up artist during a break from filming for the programme, Rylan, who went public with new partner Kennedy Bates in January, said he was pleased he took part in The Assembly, even though it was uncomfortable.

He said: “I’m so glad I did this. But yeah, [the] Dan questions, I was like [surprised] – I don’t even say his name. When my marriage ended, you know that term when someone says, ‘To pull the rug from under you?’

“That’s the only way I can describe it. It’s like someone went like that and I fell over, and I couldn’t get back up. [It was] like I broke both my arms and legs.”

Admitting he didn’t think he was going to “get out of it”, he concluded: “I went back to live with my mum because I didn’t want to be in my house, because there were too many memories of things in there.”

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Rylan Clark made a candid admission about his divorce from Dan Neal on ITV’s The Assembly

Rylan Clark has candidly opened up about his split from ex-husband Dan Neal.

The 37-year-old TV personality is the latest famous face to take on ITV’s The Assembly, as the candid interview series wraps up its second run.

This extended series has also welcomed beloved figures including Sir Stephen Fry, former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, comedy icon Sir Lenny Henry, actor Anna Maxwell Martin, and rapper Aitch.

The famous faces have to answer an unflinching series of questions that go beyond anything typically asked on traditional chat shows, press tours or even political interrogations. Rylan’s episode airs on ITV1 and ITVX at 10pm on Sunday (May 24), where he confronts difficult questions about his divorce.

The presenter parted ways with his husband Dan in 2021 following six years of marriage. Rylan has been open about what led to the separation, acknowledging his infidelity during the early stages of their relationship, reports the Express.

In the upcoming episode of The Assembly, a man named Cameron asks Rylan: “When you told your husband you cheated on him, he divorced you. Is honesty always the best policy?”

The question clearly catches Rylan off guard, prompting him to respond: “Oh wow,” before continuing: “Yeah, I think it is. I’m okay admitting I’m in the wrong, because actually I don’t deal well with guilt and I don’t deal well with secrets. It made me so ill, like so ill. It sounds a terrible thing to say, but I’m glad it happened.”

Cameron follows up with: “What do you miss about Dan, if anything?”

Rylan pauses to collect his thoughts before responding: “Do you know, I never think about him. So, this is like, my whole body just went [tense]. I miss feeling like I’ve got it all. I thought I had life done – I’ve got the job, I’ve got the family, I’ve got the marriage, I’ve got the car, I’ve got the house.

“I thought I had it sussed. I didn’t have anything sussed. I didn’t know what was a real relationship, and I can look back now and know that I don’t regret anything. I don’t regret anything, so I’ll leave that up to your imagination.”

During a break from filming, Rylan is seen getting his make-up done. He says to the make-up artist: “I’m so glad I did this. But yeah, [the] Dan questions, I was like [surprised] – I don’t even say his name.”

The television personality goes on to openly reflect on the collapse of his marriage and the subsequent breakdown he went through.

“When my marriage ended, you know that term when someone says, ‘To pull the rug from under you?’ That’s the only way I can describe it. It’s like someone went like that and I fell over, and I couldn’t get back up. [It was] like I broke both my arms and legs,” he reveals.

“I thought I wasn’t going to get out of it. I went back to live with my mum because I didn’t want to be in my house, because there were too many memories of things in there.”

Rylan is currently in a relationship with Kennedy Bates, who works in the fairground industry. The couple went public with their relationship after Rylan posted snaps of their sun-soaked Maldives holiday back in January.

Speaking on The Assembly, he reveals: “When I first started dating Kennedy, and I told [my mum] about him, she was like, ‘He’s handsome,’ and he is handsome. And then she was like, ‘So, has anything happened?’ And I’m like, ‘Shut up! Shut up!'”

Rylan’s episode of The Assembly will air at 10pm on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, May 24

Lachlan Clark, a senior backup pitcher for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, wanted the ball so badly Friday against No. 1 Norco that he posted video from his Sherman Oaks Little League days, saying, “Bring it on.”

He more than lived up to the hype, throwing a four-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and zero walks in a 4-0 victory that advances the Knights to next Friday’s Southern Section Division 1 baseball quarterfinals. Notre Dame went 2-0 in Pool A. Norco must win Tuesday against Ayala to avoid elimination. The top two finishers in each pool advance.

Clark, who recently committed to Long Beach State, had been waiting for his turn in the spotlight. The last time he got a chance to shine was in the National Classic when he pitched 6⅔ innings against De La Salle and struck out 10. He thrives under pressure. An injury to Beckett Berg has made him the No. 2 pitcher for the rest of the season.

He was supported by Jacob Madrid, Notre Dame’s catcher who hit his 12th home run. After the game, 10 players went with co-coach Tom Dill to grad night at Magic Mountain.

St. John Bosco 4, Sierra Canyon 3: The Braves won their pool to advance to the Division 1 quarterfinals. A passed ball broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning. Noah Everly had two RBIs. Troy Sibolboro came through with 3⅔ innings of scoreless relief. Carl McMullan had two hits and two RBIs for Sierra Canyon, which will play in an elimination game Tuesday against Cypress.

La Mirada 9, Temecula Valley 2: Ian Aguayo hit a two-run home run during a six-run fourth inning for La Mirada, which next plays Huntington Beach.

Cypress 8, Oaks Christian 2: Noah Johnson had three hits to propel Cypress into an elimination game against Sierra Canyon on Tuesday. Tate Belfanti struck out eight in four innings.

Harvard-Westlake 6, Huntington Beach 5: Jake Chung escaped a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth to help the Wolverines win Pool B at 2-0. James Tronstein went three for three, hitting his 10th home run. Jake Kim hit a key two-run home run.

Orange Lutheran 9, Corona 6: The Lancers won Pool D, rallying from a 5-2 deficit. Brady Murrietta hit three home runs and finished with six RBIs.

Ayala 7, Maranatha 6: A Jonah Boyd single in the seventh broke a 6-6 tie and kept Ayala alive in the Division 1 playoffs. Elijah Duarte had two hits and two RBIs.

Corona Santiago 8, Etiwanda 4: Troy Randall had two hits and two RBIs, Max Eldridge homered and Charlie Lemons finished with three hits for Santiago, which will play league rival Corona on Tuesday in an elimination game.

Arcadia 3, Simi Valley 2: Matt Manzo had a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh for Arcadia in the Division 3 game. Simi Valley lost a home run after Arcadia protested over a lineup error.

St. Francis 4, Crescenta Valley 2: Danny Izaguirre hit a two-run home run, Jake Smith had three hits and two RBIs and Caysen Sullivan threw a complete game as another Mission League team advanced. All seven entrants have won at least one playoff game.

Palos Verdes 7, Pacifica Christian 1: Franco Correa had four RBIs and Kai Van Scoyoc struck out eight in six innings.

Edison 5, Damien 1: Noah Hunter struck out 11 and gave up two hits.

Agoura 4, Oakwood 0: Donovan Anthony struck out 15 with one walk and Tyler Starling and Colton Mellinger homered for Agoura.

Softball

Cypress 4, Fullerton 2: Chach Stamper threw a five-hitter to help the Centurions upset No. 3-seeded Fullerton in the Division 1 playoffs.

Norco 2, Marina 1: The No. 2-seeded Cougars survived on a walk-off single by Leighton Gray in the seventh. Marina offered its expected tough challenge with pitcher Mia Valbuena. Peyton May and Coral Williams combined for 11 strikeouts for Norco.

May 13 (UPI) — The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Wednesday evening against D.C. disciplinary officials who recommended Jeffrey Clark be disbarred over his efforts to overturn 2020 election results, the latest move by the Trump administration to defend allies accused of helping President Donald Trump remain in power after that election loss.

The lawsuit in a federal court in D.C. alleges the disciplinary officials used their powers to punish lawyers over what federal prosecutors describe as “internal Executive Branch deliberations” in order to regulate federal government actions.

“Weaponizing state bar discipline against Executive Branch attorneys in this way chills them from giving candid legal advice to others in the Executive Branch, including the president and attorney general,” the lawsuit states.

“To permit these proceedings is to allow state bar authorities to control the Executive Branch. That is not the law.”

Clark was an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department following Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, and urged Justice Department officials to issue a letter he wrote casting doubt on election results, according to congressional investigators and D.C. disciplinary officials.

The letter specifically targeted the results in Georgia, a swing state Trump lost to Biden by 11,779 votes, alleging a Justice Department investigation had uncovered election “irregularities” despite Attorney General William Barr having already announced there was no evidence of outcome-determinative fraud in the election prior to his resignation.

Clark had prepared the letter to be signed by Barr’s replacement, then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, the second highest-ranking Justice Department lawyer, both of whom refused because they knew its contents were untrue.

Clark continued to push for the Justice Department to issue the letter, which he intended to be used as a template to be sent to other states. Amid the political turmoil, Trump considered appointing Clark as attorney general — a move Clark encouraged so he could launch nationwide investigations to uncover unfounded claims of election issues.

Trump abandoned the idea of appointing Clark only after being informed doing so would cause mass resignations among Justice Department leadership.

The D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel opened its investigation into Clark’s actions after Sen. Dick Durbin, as then-chairman of the committee, asked it to probe his “serious violations of professional conduct.”

The D.C. Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility in July recommended that Clark be disbarred in D.C., stating that “when a lawyer attempts to make intentional false statements on an issue that the lawyer understands to be a ‘pressing matter of overriding national importance,’ or knowing that the false statement would have serious and far-ranging consequences, they deserve the ultimate sanction.”

A final judgment has not yet been issued in the case.

The Justice Department on Wednesday asked the court to quash the D.C. disciplinary proceedings against Clark, and alleged they violate the Supremacy Clause and Article II of the Constitution by arguing that Clark was acting as a federal government employee who cannot be punished for performing Executive Branch duties.

Federal prosecutors also frame the issue as involving internal discussions. They said Clark attempted to persuade his superiors to issue a draft letter “that he felt reflected the actual law and facts about the 2020 election.”

“D.C. disciplinary authorities may not punish a United States official for disagreeing with a superior or coworker or for sharing an opinion just because those disciplinary authorities disagree with it,” the filing states.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also accused the D.C. Bar of being “a blatantly partisan arm of leftist causes,” accusing it of being weaponized.

“The D.C. Bar will no longer be permitted to probe sensitive Executive Branch deliberations and target Executive Branch officials with whom they happen to politically disagree, and federal attorneys will once again be free to share their candid legal advice with their bosses and colleagues,” he said in a statement.

Clark was never charged in federal court in connection with his role in the alleged scheme, but he, Trump and 17 others were indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges. The case was dismissed after the prosecutor appointed following Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ removal declined to pursue the charges.

Other Trump allies accused of aiding his efforts to overturn the 2020 election have also been sanctioned in D.C., including Rudy Giuliani, who was disbarred in D.C. and New York, and John Eastman, whose D.C. law license was suspended on an interim basis after he was disbarred in California.

Wednesday’s lawsuit is the latest action by the federal government aiding those who supported Trump’s false election claims.

On Trump’s first day in office, he issued clemency to the roughly 1,500 people charged or convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

He also issued pardons to Giuliani, Eastman, Clark, Sidney Powell and many others accused of aiding his efforts.

Rangers’ Danny Rohl is among several names on Bayer Leverkusen’s shortlist for a new head coach, but Bild suggests that Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner is the top choice and Girona’s Michel is also a candidate. (Bulinews), external

Danny Rohl is not at risk of being sacked by Rangers and is unlikely to leave for Wolfsburg considering their relegation from the Bundesliga, but Union Berlin, in particular, and Bayer Leverkusen could be more attractive propositions amid Europe-wide interest in the 37-year-old. (Sky Germany), external

Kieran McKenna is committed to managing Ipswich Town after their promotion to the Premier League and will snub any advances from Celtic, Crystal Palace or Fulham this summer. (Football Insider), external

Celtic, Fulham and Rangers have made initial enquiries about winger Cameron Ashia, while Burnley, Cardiff City, Hoffenheim, Ipswich Town, Sheffield United and Stuttgart have registered an interest in the 21-year-old who could be available for as little as £500,000 despite Huddersfield Town taking an option to extend his contract by a further year. (Daily Mail), external

Celtic forward Daizen Maeda has emerged as a target for a number of Premier League clubs as the 28-year-old edges towards a move away from Glasgow this summer. (Football Insider), external

Lech Poznan have made a cut-price £2m offer for Celtic winger Luis Palma after the 26-year-old’s loan spell with the Polish club. (The National), external

Shin Yamada is on his way back to Celtic from the 25-year-old striker’s loan spell with Preussen Munster as head coach Alois Schwartz plans a squad overhaul following their relegation to Germany’s third tier. (The Herald), external

Celtic passed on signing Lewis Ferguson before the Scotland midfielder was sold for £2.5m by Aberdeen to Bologna in 2022 because they felt he was not good enough at penalty kicks, according to the 26-year-old’s agent. (Glasgow Times), external

It turns out Raven Johnson’s “revenge tour” wasn’t completely over.

The South Carolina guard was selected as the 10th overall pick by the Indiana Fever at the 2026 WNBA draft Monday, setting her up to be reunited with a former college teammate as well as a notable rival.

Described as “one of the most WNBA-ready players” in the mock draft by The Times, the two-time national champion was famously waved off by then-Iowa phenom Caitlin Clark during their Final Four matchup in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

During the first quarter, Clark declined to guard Johnson, who had the ball outside of the three-point line, with wave of her arm while turned away from her. Not only did Clark’s team go on to win, the taunt — much like a number of other moments involving the sharpshooting former Hawkeye — went viral.

Johnson has been open about how that moment and the online response took a toll on her mental health.

“I was all over the internet,” Johnson said while discussing some of the adversity she’s faced in her basketball career on a recent episode of the “I Am Next” podcast. “I got bashed, I got bullied, I got called all these things that I wasn’t … like a monkey [and] just things like that. I wanted to quit basketball at that time and I wanted to just go in this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself.”

She credited her faith and the support of her teammates and loved ones for being able to turn it around and use the moment to fuel her “revenge tour” the next year. South Carolina beat Clark’s Hawkeyes in the 2024 national championship to cap off an undefeated season.

Caitlin Clark and Raven Johnson at the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

At least in part because of this history, the online response to Johnson being drafted by the Fever has been divided among the team’s fans as well as the supporters of each of the individual players. But the Fever staff were clearly elated to be able to nab Johnson off the board.

“Let’s go,” Fever coach Stephanie White said in a video call with Johnson posted on social media on Monday. “We are so excited.”

Johnson isn’t the only one who is set to join forces with a rival in the next chapter of their career. Following her trade from the Sparks, Rickea Jackson will be teammates with Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, whose game-winning buzzer beater for the Gamecocks took down the former’s Tennessee team at the 2024 Southeastern Conference tournament.

And that’s not to mention the Washington Mystics following their selection of UCLA center Lauren Betts as the fourth overall pick Monday by later drafting Texas standout Rori Harmon in the third round. Betts’ viral block is what sealed UCLA’s win over Texas at the Final Four en route to the Bruins’ championship win earlier this month. (The Mystics also selected UCLA forward Angela Dugalic in the first round.)

Despite the naysayers, Johnson appears excited to be joining a championship contender with the Fever. During a Monday news conference, Johnson mentioned Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell among the team’s vets she’s looking forward to learning from.

“She has taught me so much through my college experience,” Johnson said of Boston, her former college teammate. “She taught me what pro habits were. She taught me you have to bring those habits every day to practice. … She is a phenomenal person. She instills so much in young people and there’s no way you don’t want to play with somebody like that [and] look up to somebody like that.”