The Indiana Fever are off to a 4-4 start, and some fans are convinced that head coach Stephanie White could be costing the team some wins.
White has come under fire lately for controversially benching some of her top players — namely Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston — early in games, which cost Indiana in Saturday’s 100-84 loss to the Portland Fire.
White was asked after the defeat why she pulled Clark and Boston while holding a four-point lead after just three minutes in the first quarter — a decision that led to a 13-2 run by Portland. When Clark and Boston subbed back in, the Fever were trailing by seven.
“Well, AB is still in a minutes restriction, so that’s why she’s coming out,” White told reporters, via the Indy Star. “And that’s typically around the same time that we’ve taken Caitlin out before. We didn’t (take Clark out then) in Golden State because, quite honestly, we didn’t want Raven (Johnson) in that environment without another ball-handler on the floor, but that’s been our typical substitution pattern.”
Fever fans seemingly didn’t accept White’s explanation for the substitution plan, and some took to social media to rip into White for messing with Clark’s minutes. Some even called for White’s job.
“White is killing CC’s confidence and swagger. Anyone watching that game last night had to question why after a Portland ‘stop the bleeding’ timeout SW would pull CC and AB. I honestly wish CC would take a health leave of absence for a year and let the league see reality,” one fan exclaimed.
“The Fever coach is embarrassing to the Indiana fans. @IndianaFever until they get a real coach, it’s a waste of money and time. We love the Fever and want to support them, but it’s clear they hate #22 we love her. Do you see the issue?” another fan protested.
“What a stupid [expletive]. Time to fire White,” a third fan wrote.
“It was a stupid decision. Not even a rookie coach would have done that. White has got to go,” one user declared.
“It was nonsense explanation. Fever should figure this out before it gets worse,” another user wrote.
“Coach is horrible, I hope CC will be set free,” another fan replied.
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