If you think the Indiana Fever did anything untoward or wrong in the way they handled the Caitlin Clark injury announcement on Wednesday, head coach Stephanie White doesn\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the WNBA warned Indiana for violating the league\u2019s injury report protocol after Clark was not included in the Tuesday report before being scratched shortly before Wednesday\u2019s game against the Portland Fire.<\/p>\n
White was asked what her reaction was to the warning<\/a> on Friday during her pregame press conference before the Fever played the\u00a0Golden State Valkyries.<\/p>\n \u201cMy reaction is: \u2018For what?\u2019\u201d White said.<\/p>\n She was asked to elaborate and added, \u201cBecause we did things the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n #Fever<\/a> HC Stephanie White\u2019s reaction to the #WNBA<\/a>\u2019s warning regarding Caitlin Clark\/injury report? \u201cMy reaction is: for what?\u201d<\/p>\n Why is that SW\u2019s reaction? \u201cBecause we did things the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019ve deferred to the medical team, but we can\u2019t talk to them: \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d *shrugs* pic.twitter.com\/9gJmMAQTwr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) May 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The WNBA requires teams to submit an injury report at 5 p.m. local time the day before a game and \u201cmust designate a participation status and identify a specific injury, illness, other medical condition, or other reason for any player whose participation in the game may be affected for any reason.\u201d Teams can then begin submitting injury reports at midnight on game days and must update them every 15 minutes before tipoff.<\/p>\n The league admonished the Fever for failing to adhere\u00a0to those guidelines.<\/p>\n Clark\u2019s abrupt status change without warning\u00a0set off alarm bells among WNBA media<\/a> and sparked a debate about the Fever\u2019s handling of injuries and whether the WNBA needs to institute stricter rules on reporting. White said the following day that it\u2019s common for players to have a \u201cpro day\u201d and not participate in practice while not being listed on the injury report, adding that the Fever insisted Clark \u201cwas on the court at one point\u201d on Tuesday. As for why she was a late scratch, White said Clark \u201cwoke up with some stiffness and soreness.\u201d She denied that the move was part of a pre-arranged load-management plan.<\/p>\n Clark explained\u00a0<\/a>to the media what had happened on Friday<\/a>, saying she intended to play, but it was decided on Wednesday that she would skip the game to\u00a0rest her back.<\/p>\n \u201cComing back from injury and having three soft tissues or however many soft tissue injuries is a real mental challenge,\u201d said Clark. \u201cAnd these are the best players in the world. And if I don\u2019t feel 100% confident in my body, like, on game 5 of the year, I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s really worth it in that scenario.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to play every single game. I want to play 44 games in a season. I\u2019m doing everything I can to do that. By putting my body in my best position I can to, and I feel really good and really confident in my body, but there\u2019s moments where I still struggle a little bit and I get in my head and things like that, and I\u2019m sore. Like, that\u2019s just reality of it. You can ask any athlete, you can ask any basketball player, women\u2019s basketball players, or any athlete around the country, any professional sport, they\u2019ll tell you the same exact thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \t