Caitlin Clark is a competitor. Without her fiery drive and tenacious nature, she likely isn't the basketball player fans have grown to love watching.

Without that tenacity, she probably isn't the first pick in the WNBA draft and she probably doesn't become the face of women's basketball. With everything that makes Caitlin Clark great at basketball, there are the negatives that come with that.

Working on her temper was something she was focused on during her senior year at the University of Iowa. When it comes to her WNBA career...Caitlin is racking up technical fouls at an impressive pace.

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She received another one last night as the Indiana Fever faced off against the Seattle Storm. She was involved in a heated exchange with Victoria Vivians late in the second quarter.

She'll Get Suspended At This Rate

Caitlin has now received 3 technical fouls in the first 9 games of her WNBA career. There are basketball players who hardly receive 3 technical fouls during their entire basketball careers. Caitlin is currently averaging 1 tech every 3 games!

Did you know that in the WNBA, if you receive 8 technical fouls during the season, you're suspended for 1 game automatically?

It was another frustrating night for Clark and the Indiana Fever as they lost big to the Storm, 103-88. Caitlin Clark spoke after the game and she told 274Sports

"Being competitive is who I am, sort of through my whole career. I think at times there are ways I can probably channel it a little better, but that's just basketball at the end of the day. That's never going to change. I'm never going to lose that. I feel like I'm getting hammered."

2 Things Can Be True

I think it's fair to say that 2 things can be true. Caitlin could probably learn to cool it with the officials at moments. If you're constantly complaining and in their face, yelling at them, you aren't going to do yourself any favors in the long run. It gets to a point where officials are just waiting for you to say something so they can give you a technical foul.

I also think that the WNBA is shooting themselves square in the foot by not somewhat protecting their biggest star. Caitlin gets absolutely crushed in every game she plays. She's been elbowed in the head, hit in the face, high-fived during a 3-point shot and not given the call, etc.

Whether it's because she's a rookie and veteran players are having their "welcome to the league moment" or if they hate the attention she's got before making it to the league, we'll never really know. I just don't know why the WNBA would want their most popular player, by a mile, to take a beating every game. That is beyond me. 

Indiana will take on the Chicago Sky on Saturday (June 1) at 11 a.m. It's been a frustrating start to the season for Indiana but it will be interesting to see if Caitlin can help lead the team out of an early slump.