Caitlin Clark’s rookie season in the WNBA went down in the record books, but she also remembers the moment she knew she was in professional baseball.
Her “welcome to the WNBA” moment.
Clark appeared on the latest “New Heights” podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce and was asked about the moment she was greeted by her fellow WNBA players.
She knew the answer immediately.
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Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (22) discusses a call with a referee during the second half of a game against the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
“Someone put a screen on me and I hit the girl’s ear perfectly where it broke my eardrum. And it broke,” Clark said of his Fever game against the New York Liberty on June 2. “I knew right away because I’ve done it before [while tubing in a lake]. It hurts a lot. … That was my welcome to the W moment.”
Clark said that while his ear didn’t bleed, his hearing wasn’t the same for a few weeks.
“It takes months to heal,” Clark added. “So, after the season, the doctor had to go back and forth to see if it would close. And if it doesn’t close, you have to have a minor procedure. But, luckily, it closed. So it was fine.”
Liberty’s 104-68 loss to the Fever was Clark’s 11th game of her rookie season.
The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of the blowout and Clark received attention from trainers on the bench before having to walk back to the locker room at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Former Iowa Hawkeye and current Indiana Fever WNBA star Caitlin Clark is honored during a game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Northwestern Wildcats at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, on October 26, 2024. (Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images)
Clark missed the rest of the game.
“I don’t want to explain it. It would probably be pretty gross. But no, I feel good,” Clark told reporters at the time of the injury. “I can’t hear well with one of my ears.”
The injury did not stop Clark from breaking several records, including most assists in a season.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark runs down the court on July 12, 2024, during a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Grace Hollars/IndyStar/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Clark was named Time Athlete of the Year and 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year. She was also named a WNBA All-Star for the first time.
