Rachel DeMita has never been shy of speaking her mind. She’s one of the louder voices in WNBA media space all season. After Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark’s mishandled injury status, she went further than she ever has before.
Her recently dropped podcast episode questions Clark’s long-term future with the Fever.
Rachel DeMita Questions Caitlin Clark’s Future With The Indiana Fever
It all began when Indy did not list Clark on their injury report. And just 100 minutes before tipoff, CC’s status changed to “out” with back soreness. HC Stephanie White insisted that it wasn’t load management, telling reporters that Clark is healthy and the team is just taking precautionary measures.
Fieldhouse Files reporter Scott Agness even reported that it was “part of a strategic management plan for the season.” Both framings did not add up for DeMita, and her takeaway was even more brutal.
Not only did she question where CC’s future lies, but she also pointed to a recent NBA decision regarding Jason Kidd to show how differently this situation would play out in the other league.
“I don’t know if Caitlin staying with the Indiana Fever makes sense. I think if this were an NBA franchise, an NBA organization, people would be fired by now.”
She continued, “This is the face of the league, a star player who never had injuries. People would be fired by now. People would be fired expeditiously, expeditiously. Somebody has to go down for it. That’s what happens in every other league. We literally just saw Jason Kidd get fired by the Dallas Mavericks because they had a horrible season, and they have Cooper Flagg. We see this happen so often.”
Rachel Demita who covers the NBA and in NBA circles,
“ I don’t know if Caitlin staying with the Indiana fever makes sense”
“I think If this were an NBA franchise, an NBA organization, people would be fired by now”
“ People would be fired expeditiously” !!! 🥊 pic.twitter.com/dKBLHfFZfo
— coach anderson (@coachandere6xa) May 21, 2026
The Mavericks parted ways with Kidd after a 2025-26 season that didn’t deliver on the Cooper Flagg pick. DeMita’s point rested on just one fact: in the NBA, accountability follows the stars, whereas in the WNBA, it doesn’t seem to.
Empty Seats, Mounting Scrutiny Add Weight To The Criticism
DeMita’s comments come right in the midst of an empty Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It is getting harder for Indy to hold on to fans, as was evident in viral clips shot on fans’ phones on Wednesday.
The videos captured patches of empty seats, the emptiest the building has looked since CC arrived in 2024.
Podcaster Ben Daniel even laid out the attendance trend backed with previous numbers: 17,274 against the Wings, then 15,673, then 14,505, then 14,010 against the Fire. Four straight home games trending down.
And the criticism here isn’t just isolated to low attendance. The Fever’s marketing game has changed, increasingly sidelining Clark in its promotional content. Communications and transparency around her injuries have been inconsistent. The franchise that grew phenomenally in the women’s sports space is now being accused of squandering exactly that.
DeMita’s words feel sharper since this isn’t her first statement to the franchise. After Indiana’s 2026 season opener loss to the Dallas Wings, she flagged CC heading back to the tunnel multiple times during the game. She questioned the franchise about their transparency regarding the situation and her injury.
“We did see her going to the back multiple times, and it’s peculiar. It’s strange. I’m not going to sit here and spread a rumor that Caitlin Clark is injured because we just don’t know. However, I haven’t seen many players go to the back multiple times unless they are doing maintenance on an injury or on something that is actually bothering them.”
After that particular game, White framed this back-and-forth as standard body maintenance, saying multiple Fever players go back for adjustments mid-game.
Clark played only 13 games last season. Her season was hampered by multiple soft-tissue injuries.
