When Caitlin Clark went down clutching her right groin on July 15, 2025, the Gainbridge Fieldhouse fell dead silent. The heart beat of the Indiana Fever was loitering for a moment, and the air was full of anxiety. And through the dismay, there was one voice that held the team to ground, and that was Sydney Colson. But sadly, she also suffered the same fate as CC.
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On August 7, 2025, just 30 games into the year, Colson tore her left ACL in a non-contact fall against the Phoenix Mercury. The locker room leader suddenly found herself sidelined, too. That moment forced Colson to redefine what leadership meant. Appearing recently on Post Moves, the podcast hosted by Aliyah Boston and Candace Parker, she opened up for the first time about the emotional toll and the surprising lessons behind that injury.
When Parker asked how she managed to shift from leading on the floor to leading from the sidelines, Colson didn’t hide the difficulty of that transition. “Yeah, it was… just another one of those things,” she began thoughtfully. “Like, I look at it as another thing where I have to…trust that what I’m going through is still part of God’s plan for me.” For Colson, the pain went beyond her knee; it tested her faith. She described the negativity that came her way earlier in the season, when critics questioned her play and presence.
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May 28, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sydney Colson (51) reacts to a call from the referee in the first quarter against the Washington Mystics at Entertainment & Sports Arena. Mandatory Credit: Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images
“There was a lot of negativity coming my way,” she admitted. “Typically, I’m the person that people are just like, ‘Oh, we love Sid, that’s funny.’ But once I got here and was experiencing people’s disapproval, it didn’t really phase me because I understood, even more so, that this is definitely a part of my plan.” So, this negativity had already made her stronger way before her injury!
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That criticism had started months earlier, when a clip from practice went viral. It showed Colson’s reaction after a turnover, frustrated, human, and fans were quick to judge. “Sydney Colson’s body language horrible. How are you gonna commit the turnover & get mad at your teammate?” Fans suddenly began questioning the player once seen as the WNBA’s locker-room light for her attitude and limited minutes. But Colson never fought back. Instead, she turned that noise into fuel. “When people get to not liking you for no reason, I’m probably exactly where I need to be,” she said.
That mindset became her anchor when the injury hit. Instead of checking out, she leaned in. “It made me an even more vocal leader,” she reflected. “It made me pay attention to things that maybe I wasn’t paying attention to before… things other people had going on so I could be more tapped in if they were having a hard time.” Through her words, you see what most fans don’t: the unseen backbone of a team still trying to find its rhythm. “I had to get outside of me,” she said quietly. “That was the lesson I learned in this. I hope it’s the one God wanted me to learn.” Even while sidelined, Sydney Colson kept her presence alive in the game. And all these comments came after Lexie Hull’s controversial comments about Caitlin Clark’s rise!
Caitlin Clark drew the spotlight, and jealousy followed as the Fever fought to stay united
Two years ago, did you know about this team – the Indiana Fever? Probably not so often, because they were barely part of the WNBA conversation. Everything changed drastically with the arrival of Caitlin Clark in 2024. The Fever suddenly became a must-watch basketball team. Sold-out crowd. There are TV cameras everywhere. The group that once wanted headlines is now making them. Despite Clark’s injury-related absence, Indiana advanced to the 2025 semifinals. However, fame also brings struggles. Fever’s unexpected rise to fame has not been well-received by everyone.
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Some athletes feel that their efforts did not receive as much attention or applause as before Caitlin Clark. Fever guard Lexi Hull told Glamor she notices it, too. “I think there is a level of jealousy when it comes to the Fever, just because of the media attention and the fans that have shown up for us ever since Caitlin got here,” she said.
Still, Hull welcomes the tension. “If you have extra motivation to beat us because of something out of our control, that’s fine,” she added. “Everyone should feel like they’re getting everyone else’s best, and I do feel like we get everyone else’s best.” And perhaps this is the real story. Injuries heal, the headlines fade, but voices like Sydney Colson’s keep the locker room alive.