The Indiana Fever found themselves caught in the crosshairs after the WNBA issued a stern warning regarding injury transparency. After scratching Caitlin Clark less than two hours before tipoff on Wednesday night against the Portland Fire, the Fever received a formal warning.
Clark’s omission from the injury report came despite having missed Tuesday’s practice entirely, and it was no secret that she had been managing back stiffness since the season opener against the Dallas Wings.
The rulebook clearly states teams must report injury designations by 5 p.m. local time the day before a scheduled contest, a protocol Indiana ignored.
Stephanie White Sparks Controversy with Comments on Caitlin Clark’s Injury Report Fiasco
Amid the injury report controversy, head coach Stephanie White did herself no favors when she addressed the situation with the media.
Ahead of Friday’s game against the Golden State Valkyries, The Athletic’s James Boyd sought White’s take on the league issuing a warning to Indiana for violating injury-report protocols. In response, the Fever head coach was blunt.
“My reaction is: ‘For what?’” White said. “Because we did things the right way.”
Social media exploded with criticism, as one user deemed the response “disrespectful.”
“she’s actually just disrespectful as f**k what the hell😭😭😭😭”
“She throws gasoline on the flames every time she speaks…” another remarked.
“It’s time for Stephanie White to find something else to do, because she has no business coaching the Indiana Fever. Caitlin Clark deserves better!” one user claimed.
“they really mad bc they got caught LMAOOOOO next time lie better and don’t mention that she didn’t practice the day yall dropped a clean injury report,” another user posted.
“Lol Bullsh*t but I understand,” one user bluntly remarked.
“She keeps giving YouTubers content 😂 I know they secretly love her,” one user proclaimed.
Nonetheless, Indiana managed to beat Portland 90-73 without Clark on the floor. Aliyah Boston carried the offensive load in that matchup, racking up 24 points and 8 rebounds, while Kelsey Mitchell chipped in 21 points.
Clark refused to add fuel to the controversy when she addressed the media on Friday.
“Had every intention of playing, didn’t indicate I wasn’t gonna play… Woke up Tuesday, felt a little sore, texted our training staff, texted my personal physio…” Clark said.
“I actually went back and looked, because of all these narratives that are going crazy online, about when I told my mom I wasn’t gonna play the game… You guys found out at 5:20. One of the most important people in my life found out 40 minutes before you did… I think at the end of the day it’s me and my confidence,” she continued.
As for the game against the Valkyries, Clark removed any lingering concerns about her overall health, dropping 22 points and 9 assists to help spark a 90-82 comeback win to move the Fever to 4-2 for the season.
