Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White did not get the homecoming treatment this week when she was greeted with a torrent of boos from the crowd following her defense of DiJonai Carrington in the wake of her Flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham.
Over the weekend, White sparked significant fan backlash when she gave a puzzling defense of DiJonai Carrington during the post-game press conference after the Chicago Sky star clotheslined Sophie Cunningham as she went in for a layup.
“She’s going to play her butt off. She’s going to compete. Nobody’s going to go walking in for a layup, so I don’t oppose the hard foul, but I don’t think she intentionally went for the neck,” said White.
After several days of angry backlash and calls to have her fired, White walked onto the court on Tuesday night to experience the wrath for herself, per The Spun.
Fever fans let their frustration be heard before Tuesday night’s game against the New York Liberty.
Multiple outlets reported that Fever fans booed White at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Fever star player Caitlin Clark confirmed that fans booed White during a post-game press conference, which neither she nor Sophie Cunningham approved of.
“There was no way we were losing this game for [Stephanie White]. … I hated that our fans booed her before the game. That made me a little sick, to be honest,” said Caitlin Clark.
After the Fever defeated the New York Liberty 106-92, Stephanie White expressed frustration at the controversy in a post-game press conference.
“The hate, the fearmongering, the divisiveness, the stuff that’s trying to hijack our league will not win,” White said. “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 will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell.”