Kelsey Plum might have deserved a straight red card during Saturday’s game against the Golden State Valkyries.
The Los Angeles Sparks guard Plum received backlash for her flagrant foul on Valkyries counterpart Veronica Burton. During the fourth quarter at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., Plum was defending Burton above the arc when Burton tried to make a move on her.
Plum responded by kicking Burton’s leg, causing Burton to fall hard to the ground. Burton was not at all pleased and popped up to confront Plum (who ultimately received a flagrant 1 foul for the kick).
Here is the video.
Kelsey Plum got a flagrant foul for karate kicking somebodypic.twitter.com/VlO7Z8gBGp
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) August 10, 2025
Another angle later emerged showing the reverse view of Plum’s kick. The angle showed Plum seemingly winding up and kicking Burton directly in the knee/shin area.
Nah Kelsey plum out of pocket for this – she’s frustrated and it’s showing pic.twitter.com/IACMlxN6sk
— Golden State Valkyries Fan Report (@valkyriesreport) August 10, 2025
The Sparks were down by 15 points at the time and went on to lose the game by a 72-59 final. Plum herself also had a nightmare outing, shooting 1/9 from the field for four points (to go along with four rebounds and four assists).
A four-time All-Star as well as a two-time WNBA champion, Plum’s game has largely spoken for itself in previous year. But during this season especially, which is her first with the Sparks, Plum has made headlines multiple times now for dirty and/or disrespectful moves (including during a game against the Indiana Fever last month).
