The Indiana Fever’s highly anticipated matchup against the New York Liberty on Tuesday began with an unexpected twist. Instead of taking questions from reporters, coach Stephanie White gave an intense speech about the growing noise surrounding the WNBA.
The 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year spoke about “the hate, the fearmongering, the divisiveness, the stuff that’s trying to hijack our league,” setting the tone for the defense of her recent comments in the postgame presser.
Stephanie White Pushes Back on Fever Controversy Narrative With Blunt ‘Hijacked’ Message
White had faced significant scrutiny since Saturday’s Fever-Chicago Sky game, when Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham took a hard hit from Chicago’s DiJonai Carrington. The play resulted in a Flagrant 2 foul and Carrington’s ejection.
After the incident, White said in her postgame press conference that she did not believe Carrington, her former player with the Connecticut Sun, intended to hurt Cunningham.
That assessment quickly drew criticism. Prominent figures, including Dave Portnoy and Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, called for White’s firing, while other WNBA observers and analysts also questioned her response.
On Tuesday, White pushed back against what she described as an “online community that’s trying to create narratives that simply don’t exist.”
She emphasized that she “100% always have my players’ back” and added that “I ride with them 10 toes down all the time.”
After Indiana’s 106-92 win over the Liberty, White was asked to provide more context about the message she delivered before the game.
“I’ve made a statement before about the noise that surrounds our league, and we’re being hijacked for all the wrong reasons. … I felt called today to speak,” White said.
Asked whether one specific incident prompted her to address the issue, White pointed back to the fallout from Saturday’s game.
“Of course, like the response from Saturday. … People presume to know who I am and have no idea, but also because these women are playing incredible basketball and they deserve to be celebrated for that. I give them a ton of credit. Winners focus on winning, and that’s what they’re doing.”
Caitlin Clark unequivocally supported White in her postgame interview. The three-time All-Star said that she felt “a little sick” when her coach was booed during the pre-game introduction.
Cunningham is also in White’s corner amid the criticism. “Our locker room in there, it’s tight, and we have each other’s backs. Coach loves us. She didn’t see the clip, and that’s OK… Me and Steph are great. Steph is great with all of us, and so it’s really the outside noise that’s trying to distract us,” Cunningham said.
White’s message ultimately returned the focus to the Fever’s players and their performance. With Indiana (21-12) coming off a statement win over New York, the coach made clear where she believes the attention should remain.
