In a dramatic moment early in the playoffs, Fever star Caitlin Clark found herself poked in the eye by DiJonai Carrington, leaving fans holding their breath. The unexpected incident raised concerns about Clark’s ability to continue in the high-stakes game. 

On Sunday, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark made her WNBA playoffs debut when her team hit the road to take on the Connecticut Sun in some first round action. Clark led a resurgence down the stretch for the Fever this year, establishing herself as not only the best rookie in league history but also one of its three or four best players overall.

Early on in the game Sunday, Clark was inadvertently poked in the eye by Sun star DiJonai Carrington, who was looking to go for the steal.

Clark immediately went to the ground, appearing to temporarily lose her vision, but she was able to stay in the game.

While this one did appear to be unintentional on first glance, Clark has found herself as the target of some questionable at best conduct from some of her WNBA peers this year, constantly taking hard fouls, eye pokes, and other forms of physical play that her Fever teammates have bizarrely let slide at several different points this season.

This of course is to speak nothing of the dizzying amounts of criticism Clark has been subjected to from both current and former legends of the game, including people like Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, and most notably, Sheryl Swoopes, who has gone so far as to undermine her own career accomplishments in an attempt to minimize the obvious impact that Clark has had on the sport.

Through all of the controversy, Clark has established herself as not only the rookie of the year, but also a legitimate MVP candidate, displaying a rare combination of three point prowess, playmaking ability, and athleticism that has taken the WNBA by storm.

In any case, the Fever’s series vs the Sun is set to resume on Wednesday evening, once again in Connecticut, before a possible Game 3 if necessary.