Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White seemed to have offended a section of the Indiana Fever fan base, and they made sure to air their displeasure by booing her during introductions just ahead of the New York Liberty game on Tuesday. It appears she has now found forgiveness.
After receiving public support from players like Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and others following the unwelcoming reception, in their Friday game against the Dallas Wings, she also got cheers instead of the boos. She acknowledged and appreciated the change in reception. Speaking in the post-game press conference, White addressed what the support meant to her, per a video on the Fever YouTube channel.
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“It means a lot. You know, we love each other in that locker room. We know that there’s a lot of people out there that are trying to tear it apart. And when we say we’re a family, we mean that. It doesn’t mean we always get along, it doesn’t mean we always agree, but at the end of the day. It means we circle our wagons and we have each other’s back and I love them. I love every single one of them. We couldn’t go to work every day if we didn’t have each other’s back. Not in this league, it’s too hard, and have the success that we’re having.”
“It means a lot to me personally. And obviously anytime you get an ovation from a crowd, it’s nice too. I think our fans, you know, the true Indiana Fever fans are amazing. They’ve been incredible to me for a long time, been around a long time. But more than anything, I’m thankful for this group of women and men on our staff. And I’m thankful that we can lift each other up when need be. And they have been lifting me up and I’m happy about that. I’m thankful for it,” White added.
Stephanie White faced the previous unwelcoming reception because fans felt she failed to sufficiently defend her player, Sophie Cunningham. Cunningham had been at the receiving end of a rather hard foul from Chicago Sky‘s DiJonai Carrington. But when asked about it in the post-game conference of that Sky game, Coach White stated that while she agreed with the referee’s call, she did not think the contact was malicious or intentional.
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That response did not sit well with a lot of Fever fans. They interpreted her comments as protecting an opposing player over her own roster. And they made sure to show their displeasure by booing her in the team’s next game against the New York Liberty.
Following that uncharacteristic reception for their head coach,Fever players openly showed their support while expressing their displeasure with the reaction from the fans. Specifically, Caitlin Clark stated that hearing the home crowd boo her head coach “made her a little sick,” and it served as a form of motivation to win. And they did. In fact, they’ve now won their last three games in a row, with the latest win being a 98-87 victory over the Dallas Wings.
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