Backing your players publicly, no matter what, is a commonly understood principle among coaches, but Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White apparently just got the memo.
White used the entirety of her pre-game presser to go on what was, in large part, an unhinged rant, blasting critics who accused her of defending Chicago Sky forward DiJonai Carrington after she flagrantly fouled Fever guard Sophie Cunningham.
Punctuated by more than one expletive and dramatic exit that would make Hollywood blush, White directed her anger at “an online community that’s trying to create narratives that simply don’t exist, trying to create a fabrication or distortion of who I am, of what I’m about.”
She also accused those online critics of fostering “the hate, the fearmongering, the divisiveness” that is surrounding the WNBA.
“Our players’ success, our players’ health and wellness, our player safety is always a top priority for me,” White said. “One of the things I pride myself on is my relationships with players.”
The subject of White’s “relationships with players” became acute during her post-game comments on Saturday when reporters asked for her thoughts on Carrington’s foul on Cunningham and whether she thought it was intentional.
White defended the Sky forward, saying Carrington is “gonna play her butt off” and “going to compete and nobody’s gonna go walking in for a layup.”
She added, “I don’t oppose the hard foul, but I also don’t think that she intentionally went for the neck.”
Those comments drew immediate backlash from fans, media, even the lieutenant governor of the state of Indiana, who called for White’s ouster after failing to defend Cunningham from such an obvious and egregious penalty.
In something of a twist, White told reporters on Tuesday that she did not see Carrington’s foul on Cunningham when it happened.
“Was it egregious? Absolutely,” White said Tuesday. “When you have a chance to watch that, over and over and over on replay, you can see that. I didn’t have that in real time.
However, if that’s the case, it raises important questions about why White commented on the incident at all. Moreover, why would she reflexively defend an opponent over her own player?
White continued, “I take personally any suggestions that I don’t 100 percent always have my player’s back. I ride with them 10 toes down all the time — all the time,” she continued. “They know that. It’s a shame that we can’t have an opportunity to talk about what great basketball they’re playing because they are f–king playing.
“The reality is with me, I will always lead with love. I will always lead with grace, I will always lead with humility, and I will always lead with integrity. Doesn’t mean I’ll always get it right. I’m also human. The hate, the fearmongering, the divisiveness, the stuff that’s trying to hijack our league will not win. It won’t win. We are united, we are connected. We will not be divided. Every day these women put their ass on the line. Every day. When they go low, we go high. Love will win. Grace will win. Humility will win, and kindness will win. I stand by them. I’ll always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell.”
With that, White suddenly rose from her seat and stormed out without fielding any questions.
The Fever recently found themselves at the center of controversy with the WNBA and its fans after Sophie Cunningham said that men should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham told ESPN. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”