Reporter Scott Agness has been covering the Indiana Fever through his Fieldhouse Files Substack, but he now claims that the team revoked his press credentials for his report on star Caitlin Clark’s injury.
“Indiana Fever public relations informed me via email that my credentialed access to all team events had been revoked,” he wrote in a Substack post on Tuesday. “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.”
“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,” he continued.
Despite the pushback, Agness stood by his reporting and the intent behind it.
As noted by the New York Post, the Indiana Fever “received a warning — but no financial penalty — from the WNBA after Clark was a late scratch against the Portland Fire despite not being on the team’s official injury report the previous day.”
Stephanie White, head coach for the Fever, also told reporters after the loss that Clark is healthy and they were “not managing anything,” adding that “his is just a back issue that we want to make sure we give the time to be ready.”
Agness did note in his Substack that he amended his reporting to include White’s comments.
“Fever PR asked about the tweet [about the strategic management plan], and said it needed to be retracted because it was false,” he told Front Office Sports. “I said that while I understood her position, I have a trusted source and stand by my reporting. And that I would update the story to share whatever [Fever coach Stephanie] White said during her pregame availability.”