The Indiana Fever appear to have made a mess of a situation that could have died down the moment the WNBA issued a warning over the team’s handling of Caitlin Clark’s injury report.
Instead, the organization revoked veteran beat reporter Scott Agness’ credentialed access over a report he still stands by, creating controversy.
Agness has covered Indiana basketball for more than two decades and is clearly frustrated with the way he has been treated by the Fever organization.
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The issue began ahead of the Fever’s matchup against the Portland Fire on May 20, when the team ruled Clark out less than 100 minutes before tipoff.
While the Fever cited a back issue, Agness reported that the decision, which appeared to conflict with WNBA guidelines, was “part of a strategic management plan.”
His reporting implied that Clark was not dealing with a significant injury and was instead being rested as a precautionary measure.
The Fever objected to that characterization and eventually revoked his credentials, alleging he had spread “inaccurate and unsubstantiated information.”
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Agness said he was informed of the decision via email from the Fever’s public relations department.
“We’re seeing – where so many jobs are negatively impacted that I fear for where sports media, just media as a whole, could go,” Agness said on the “Yahoo Sports Daily” podcast.
“And so if someone like me, who is willing to commit: this is my job; this is not, to be clear, my secondary job… But this is what I think about when I wake up. This is what I think about before I go to bed, and I have for more than the last decade.”
“The other thing that’s more frustrating is that I’ve been around this team for so long. I was even around the team well before that, now more than 20 years. So to be treated like this. To have it over an email, to not have a conversation about it with key figures that I know. It’s just frustrating.”
According to Agness, a member of the Fever’s public relations staff approached him before the Fire game and asked him to remove the phrase “strategic management plan” from his reporting. He declined, and the discussion ended there.
He said there was no further communication before the organization ultimately revoked his access.
Agness has stood by his reporting, and many within the sports media community have publicly supported him, with the Professional Basketball Writers Association’s WNBA chapter also issuing a statement in his defense.
Clark had herself suggested in the prior weeks that she was not dealing with a major injury, while many observers around the league understood that her workload was being carefully managed after she battled multiple injuries last season.
The WNBA is yet to publicly comment on the credential dispute.
The Fever have stood by their decision despite facing significant backlash. Agness, for his part, continues his reporting and is now covering the team from home.
