Caitlin Clark, the basketball player for No. 2 ranked Iowa, described herself as “OK” after an incident where she was inadvertently knocked over by a fan who entered the court. This occurred following Iowa’s surprising defeat to No. 18 Ohio State on Sunday.
Clark recounted the experience, saying, “I was quickly trying to leave the court when suddenly I was hit hard by someone rushing onto the court. It was a complete blindside. It was frightening and could have seriously injured me. I was winded, but thankfully my teammates helped me off the court. The Athletic Director of Ohio State has already apologized, which I appreciate.”
Gene Smith, Ohio State’s Athletic Director, personally apologized to Clark and Lisa Bluder, the Iowa coach, in the Hawkeyes’ locker room. Additionally, Kevin McGuff, the Buckeyes’ coach, extended his apologies.
While Clark did not mention it, Bluder pointed out that her leading player, who scored an impressive 45 points, also faced verbal harassment while exiting the court.
Bluder expressed her disappointment and anger, stating, “It’s regrettable that the game concluded in such a manner, with Caitlin being knocked down and subjected to inappropriate comments from fans and students. This shouldn’t happen. Our players deserve to be safe and should be able to leave the court without such incidents.”
The game had attracted over 18,000 spectators, setting a record for a women’s basketball game at Ohio State. Following Ohio State’s 100-92 overtime victory, fans bypassed security and flooded onto the court.
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McGuff praised Clark’s outstanding performance and expressed his regret over the incident, saying, “She’s an incredible player and such incidents should never occur. I feel terrible about what happened and hope it doesn’t impact her in the future. It’s extremely unfortunate.”
