The Indiana Fever are facing a ton of backlash from the WNBA community, and frankly, it's impossible to defend them.
Prior to a game against the Portland Fire on May 20, the Fever ruled out Caitlin Clark due to back soreness. That announcement surprised WNBA fans since she wasn't on the injury report. According to Scott Agness, the Fever sat Clark as part of their load management plan.
“Fever guard Caitlin Clark will NOT play tonight vs Portland Fire. I’m told it’s part of a strategic management plan for the season,” Agness said. “Tonight is the Fever’s fourth game in eight days.”
Less than two weeks later, Agness announced that his credentialed access to all events involving the Fever have been revoked.
“Indiana Fever public relations informed me via email that my credentialed access to all team events had been revoked. They said it was due to “the spread of inaccurate and unsubstantiated information” and cited my tweet about Caitlin Clark being ruled out 100 minutes before they defeated the Portland Fire on May 20,” Agness wrote for Fieldhouse Files. "Fever PR briefly spoke with me before the game to ask about the tweet and state that they believed it was false. However, there was no meeting or further conversation before the decision to revoke my credentialed access was communicated to me. In my response, I told the organization that I stand by my reporting and the intent behind it."
© Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images.
The WNBA Chapter of the Professional Basketball Writers Association spoke to Front Office Sports about this concerning situation.
As you'd imagine, the PBWA believes no reporter should lose their credentials for simply doing their job.
“The PBWA objects in the strongest possible terms to any reporter losing access for the act of reporting,” the statement said. “Any effort to prevent reporters from doing the work of informing the public reflects poorly on any team and league which attempts to do so, and runs contrary to the best interests of all involved, most of all the public.”
Media members take aim at the Fever.
Unsurprisingly, a handful of reporters and TV personalities have put the Fever on blast for this decision.
"The Indiana Fever have revoked the credential of the longest-serving reporter covering the team," Christine Brennan said. "Scott Agness announced that he has been banned because of his reporting on Caitlin Clark’s surprising absence from a game in May. Banning a reporter is never the right thing to do."
"The Fever seem to be a mess right now," Jon Root wrote on X. "Rumors are flying around that HC Steph White & Clark aren’t getting along (they deny it), fans are questioning whether Clark is being marketed and built around properly, etc. Letting go of a respected reporter who’s been there for a while, for something like this, is strange to say the very least."
"For those of you wondering? Yes, this completely shatters all benefits of the doubt regarding one player receiving special treatment for no discernable reason. Absolute disasterclass from the WNBA and the Fever," Clinton Yates commented.
It'll be interesting to see if Indiana's PR team reverses course and reinstate Agness' credentials.
That being said, the damage is already done for the Fever.
