There has been a lot of talk complaining about the physicality of the WNBA, especially regarding Caitlin Clark debuting with the Indiana Fever, and when Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale spoke on the topic, she did not hold back on the complaints, saying the league has always been physical and telling fans to watch another sport if they do not like it.

“I don't know how long you've been around the WNBA but this has been like this since my rookie year,” Arike Ogunbowale said, via @isaacappelt. “I mean, obviously that's what I've been able to go against but I've seen it since I've been watching the WNBA since I was young, literally nothing new. Like you get fouled, that's what it is. The men get fouled, I don't see people saying ‘oh, why did he do this?' It's basketball, it's gonna be physical. We're gonna compete, some people might get knocked down, some people bleed and that's basketball. It's no different, man or woman, so nothing's a surprise. I fall on the floor, Glory to God I get back up, sometimes you don't, sometimes you do, and that's just basketball. I don't really talk about media, but it just kind of annoys me how they make such a big deal about the physicality because I mean, obviously the new people, they might be like, ‘Oh, this is tough,' but this is just what it's been. It's basketball. Like I said it's basketball. It's not women being catty, it's not this, it's basketball. So the narrative has to stop of people doing this or doing that. Like it's gonna be physical so if you don't want to go watch this go watch golf or something.”

Ogunbowale dealt with being a young player coming into the league with the Wings as well, coming into the WNBA in 2019 after being the No. 5 pick and having iconic moments in college with Notre Dame. She undoubtedly has dealt with physicality over the course of her career, as a lot of other players have dealt with coming into the WNBA as a young player.

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Arike Ogunbowale does not think physicality is a problem in the WNBA

The presence of Caitlin Clark has brought a lot of new fans to the WNBA, and with her struggling from an efficiency standpoint, being the focus of teams defensively, and the controversial altercation with Chennedy Carter of the Chicago Sky, there has been a lot of criticism of the physicality from fans.

In all likelihood, Clark will adjust to the league and figure out how her game fits best with the Fever. It will be interesting to see how she progresses throughout the season, because the physicality is not going anywhere in the WNBA. As Ogunbowale said, this is the norm, and she deals with it with the Wings.