The Indiana Fever seemingly cannot get out of their own way when it comes to their public image.
Following Caitlin Clark and Stephanie White's attempts to downplay their viral spat on the bench during last Saturday's loss to the Portland Fire, beat reporter Scott Agness posted an update to his Fieldhouse Files subscribers.
In his update posted Tuesday, Agness claimed that Fever public relations informed him via email that his credentialed access to all team events had been revoked. This was apparently due to "the spread of inaccurate and unsubstantiated information," citing Agness' tweet before Indiana's win over the Fire on May 20, in which Clark was ruled out and Agness said he was told her absence was part of a strategic management plan for the season.
He also noted in the tweet that it was the Fever’s fourth game in eight days.
"Fever PR briefly spoke with me before the game to ask about the tweet and state that they believed it was false," Agness wrote in the Fieldhouse Files. "However, there was no meeting or further conversation before the decision to revoke my credentialed access was communicated to me.
"In my response, I told the organization that I stand by my reporting and the intent behind it."
Agness has covered the Fever since 2013, and he further elaborted that his reporting came from a trusted source, and the information he cited came from public comments from head coach Stephanie White and Clark's follow-up days later.
The WNBA issued the Fever a warning for failing to properly report Clark's injury on the daily injury report, which updates every 15 minutes. That should have been the end of the story, but the Fever allegedly revoking Agness' credential made it much more than it should have been.
Load management shouldn't be a problem
According to Agness, the team seemed to take issue with the idea that Clark's absence from the May 20 game was a strategic way to manage Clark's back injury, which has kept her on the sidelines in the past.
If that is the case, why should that be a problem? Whether fans or players like it or not, load management is a real part of the NBA. It's a reality everyone has to deal with. It arguably is why Victor Wembanyama can play at a high level in the playoffs and why the San Antonio Spurs are in the NBA Finals this year.
That is the goal for the Fever. Will it stink if a fan doesn't get to watch Clark play during a game in mid-June or July? Of course, but Indiana needs Clark at the peak of her powers by the time the postseason rolls around, and managing her is the best way to do that, especially during times when the schedule condenses.
Sometimes, letting things go is the right thing
The Fever's public perception has taken a hit early in the season. As mentioned, Clark and White tried to downplay any idea of a beef between them, and the team needs to learn to move on and let their play do the talking.
Of course, that is something they need to figure out, but adding more fuel to the drama outside of the court doesn't help, especially over things that most people will forget about weeks later, like Clark missing a game near the end of May.
A lesson learned should not be allegedly punishing the media, as Agness claimed, but to not let things on social media become bigger than they should be. One way to do that is to just win games.
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