On Tuesday, August 11, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White did not hold back on how she felt regarding the flagrant foul from the Chicago Sky’s DiJonai Carrington’s on Sophie Cunningham. White stated that she believed the refs decision on calling it a flagrant foul was the right decision but did not agree that Carrington should have been ejected from the game. White’s comments created a mix of emotions for both Indiana Fever fans and the media. There were rumors speculating around the relationship between Stephanie White and the players on the Indiana Fever coming from the media.
Because of White’s comment regarding that Carrington grabbing Sophie Cunningham around the neck was unintentional, there were articles in the media saying that she does not protect her players. Before the Fever’s game against the New York Liberty, head Coach Stephanie White addressed the media to shut down the speculation that was pinned against her.
“We are united, we are connected. We will not be divided. Every day, these women put their ass on the line every day. When they go low, we go high. Love will win. Grace will win. Humility will win and kindness will win. I stand by them. I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell!” Coach Stephanie White said.
Although, in Stephanie White’s mind she felt like she was defending her players many fans did not agree. During Tuesday night’s game against the New York Liberty, as the head coach’s name was being announced the fans responded to it by booing her. The fans made it very clear on how they felt in regard to her statement she made towards the press right before tipoff.
The Indiana Fever closed the game with a victory of a score of 106 – 92. Despite the team’s win, the booing towards Stephanie White did not go unnoticed. After the game, Indiana Fever stars Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell shared their thoughts on how they felt about the fans response to hearing their coach’s name being announced.
“I hated that our fans booed her before the game. That made me a little sick, to be honest.” Caitlin Clark stated.
Kelsey Mitchell stated this to the press, “It kind of threw me in for a loop, too. If anybody knows me, it’s like I don’t play that. So, it really hurt my feelings to see her kind of have emotions, in terms of not feeling valued and not feeling wanted in a place that she has to coach.”
“When you’re on your home floor, and your team is getting announced, and your coach is getting announced, I feel like there’s no reason for any of that.” Aliyah Boston also adds “I think Steph does a great job with us. We love her and we appreciate her. And so, to hear that, it was really annoying honestly. And disrespectful.”
The part of this story that is found to be very interesting is that the media was saying that head coach Stephanie White was not defending her players but yet, when the media approached three-star players on the team, every one of them came to her defense. Even though, everyone (player or fan) is allowed to have their own opinions, it needs to be clear that there is a fine line between disagreeing with someone and being disrespectful towards that person.
In the sports world there is a community that surrounds the fan base and the players and coaches on a sports team. The fans come together to cheer on the players that represent their team. On Tuesday’s game against the New York Liberty, there seemed to be a line drawn between the fans and the team. Hopefully things turn around for the both the Indiana Fever team and their fanbase. The best thing the team can do right now amidst what is being said in the media currently is to win games throughout the remainer of the WNBA season.
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