PHOENIX — Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White declined Thursday to address a letter from 11 Republican members of Congress to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert that raised concerns about the treatment of Caitlin Clark, saying the team had already issued a statement, according to OutKick, which asked White before the Fever’s game in Phoenix.
“Our team made a statement yesterday so you can find that statement,” White said, according to OutKick. When pressed about how she handles a player being mentioned in a letter from members of Congress, White said, “Again, that’s not something we can control,” and added, “We’re not affiliated with those groups. We try to keep the main thing the main thing and focus on the things we can control.”
The Fever released a statement Wednesday saying, “Our organization nor Caitlin has had any interaction with anyone in this congressional group and we were unaware of their letter.” The statement added that the team has been “clear in our public comments and in our ongoing dialogue with the League about the priority of player safety” and that it would “continue to stick up for our team and a standard of excellence across the league.”
The letter from 11 Republican members of Congress said lawmakers were concerned about “physical hostility” and “violence” Clark faces and suggested it might be “racially motivated.” The letter also cited incidents in which Clark was allegedly “hip-checked, poked in the eye, and struck in the throat during games,” saying those events “go far beyond routine physical play,” according to the letter.
Clark was ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Phoenix Mercury despite playing 16 minutes Wednesday against the Los Angeles Sparks and saying afterward that her “body feels great,” according to her postgame remarks. White did not say whether the decision to sit Clark was related to Thursday’s opponent. The WNBA announced following a June 24 meeting between the Fever and Mercury that Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas had received a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty and a one-game suspension after a postgame review of an incident in which Thomas struck Clark; no foul was called on the play in real time, the league said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
