WNBA star Jonquel Jones has brushed off rumors suggesting that there was a deliberate campaign to rough up Caitlin Clark.

Rookie of the Year Clark smashed the single-season assist record and played a pivotal role in leading the Indiana Fever into the playoffs. The 22-year-old has captured wider attention, with the ‘Caitlin Clark effect’ being credited with the WNBA’s rising popularity.

Clark swiftly became the Fever’s star player and was at the center of opposition game plans, which sparked whispers among fans that rival teams were getting too tough with the rookie. However, Finals MVP Jones has squashed the idea that there was a planned effort across the league to target Clark.

“I think it was awkward for me like or kind of like, you would go on social media and you would just see like people pushing narratives that just weren’t ‘true,” WNBA champion Jones said on the Kickin It With Dee podcast. “We’re going out there to compete hard every night… it’s our job, and we’re athletes.

“It wasn’t that we, the WNBA players, are trying to like bully Caitlin Clark. But it was just the fact that we’re going to go out here, we’re going to hoop.”

“It was never about her personally or trying to attack her; it was just about us, you know, going out there,” Jones continued. “The best sign of respect you could get from an opponent is them coming out there and playing you hard.”

Jonquel Jones and Caitlin Clark

Jonquel Jones and Caitlin Clark were teammates in the WNBA All-Star game ( 

Image:

Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

New York Liberty center Jones has been in the WNBA since 2016 and isn’t the only one to shrug off the notion that Clark was targeted by her rivals. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert chimed in after Clark’s dazzling 30-point performance in the Fever’s win over the Washington Mystics back in June.

“Did anyone say she was targeted in that game? ” Engelbert asked. “No, because everyone’s just looking for the outcome they want.”

Next season, Clark will be taking instructions from a fresh face on the sideline as the Fever has bid farewell to Christie Sides. On November 1, it was announced that Stephanie White had returned to the Fever as coach after leaving the Connecticut Sun.