Clark, sidelined with a season-ending injury, watched from the bench and joined in the celebration of her team's postseason surge. After the Fever posted a highlight to Instagram showing Lexie Hull drilling a buzzer-beating three-pointer in Game 2 to ignite the crowd and extend Indiana's lead, Clark added her own comments. She praised the reaction of her teammates with the phrase "Elite bench mob" and followed it with another message that read "Refs couldn't stop us."
The league office took notice of the latter comment and penalized the Fever star. On Saturday, September 20, Clark revealed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she had been fined two hundred dollars for the post. She appeared unfazed by the punishment, writing, "Got fined $200 for this lol 😂😂😂😂😂 BENCH MOB WILL BE EVEN MORE ROWDY TOMORROW LETS GOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! @IndianaFever."
The WNBA's response was consistent with how it has handled similar cases in the past. Clark's teammate Sophie Cunningham has faced multiple fines this season for speaking out against officiating. In July, Cunningham was fined five hundred dollars for comments she posted on TikTok. In August she was fined fifteen hundred dollars after criticizing what she viewed as inconsistent foul calls. Later that month she was again penalized, this time with an undisclosed fine, after suggesting that Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers was receiving favorable treatment from officials.
For the Fever, the focus has remained on continuing their postseason run rather than the league's disciplinary actions. Despite losing several starters and rotation players, Indiana has shown resilience, finding ways to compete and win behind its remaining roster and a spirited bench. With Clark cheering them on from the sidelines and the rest of the team rallying in her absence, the Fever have made clear that they intend to push forward and remain a factor in the playoffs even while short-handed.
