Coach was booed by sections of Fever fanbase<\/p>\n
Fever\u2019s success on court continues despite distractions<\/p>\n
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has pushed back on those who have criticized how she has handled the controversy that erupted after Saturday\u2019s game between her team and the Chicago Sky.<\/p>\n
Sky\u2019s DiJonai Carrington was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul after she struck Fever\u2019s Sophie Cunningham in the head and neck during Saturday\u2019s game. Afterwards, White, \u2013 who previously coached Carrington at \u2060the Connecticut Sun \u2013 said she did not believe Carrington intentionally aimed for Cunningham\u2019s neck. White was booed by some Fever fans before Tuesday\u2019s win over the New York Liberty, while Indiana\u2019s lieutenant governor has called for her to be fired.<\/p>\n
After Tuesday\u2019s game, White briefly addressed the \u2060media as \u200bshe pounded her fist on the table multiple times, and declined to take questions from journalists.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hate, the fear-mongering, the divisiveness, the stuff that\u2019s trying to hijack our league will not win. It won\u2019t win. We are united. We are \u200cconnected. We will not be divided,\u201d White said. \u201cEvery day, these women put their ass on the line. Every day. When \u200bthey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
White said she had not seen Carrington\u2019s foul in real time before her comments on Saturday, and rebutted suggestions that she did not \u201c100% always have my players\u2019 back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur players\u2019 success, our players\u2019 health and wellness, our players\u2019 safety is always a top priority for me,\u201d she said after Tuesday\u2019s game. \u201cOne of the things I pride myself on is my relationships with players. I didn\u2019t see the play in real time. I went straight to a press conference. I thought the play got called right. Thankfully, Sophie\u2019s OK. Was it egregious? Absolutely. When you have a chance to watch that over and over and over on replay, you can see that. I didn\u2019t have that in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cunningham expressed her support for White, who is in her second year in charge of Indiana.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur locker room in there, it\u2019s tight, and we have each other\u2019s backs,\u201d Cunningham said on Tuesday. \u201cCoach loves us. She didn\u2019t see the clip … and that\u2019s OK. Me and Steph are great. Steph is great with all of us, and so it\u2019s really the outside noise that\u2019s trying to distract us, but we\u2019re good.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fever have been under scrutiny this season. They have the WNBA\u2019s most prominent player, Caitlin Clark. Cunningham has frequently come to Clark\u2019s defense after physical play by opponents and has become one of the higher-profile players in the league. In an ESPN article published last month, she voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports, which led to small protests and rallies outside Fever games in Seattle and Portland. After Saturday\u2019s game, Carrington posted the words \u201cwhite privilege\u201d on social media, although she denied it was a comment on her ejection from the game.<\/p>\n
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The off-court storylines do not appear to be affecting the Fever\u2019s play. They have the best record in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-best in the league. Tuesday\u2019s win was Indiana\u2019s ninth win in their last 12 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really did play with joy, and with everything going on, that\u2019s kind of been hard to do,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cTonight was the night that we all just clicked and we had fun. We did it for Steph and we did it for everyone in the locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n