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Stephanie White only had guard Caitlin Clark on the court for 13 games this season, but the Indiana Fever head coach showed strong support Friday for the injured star amid the ongoing CBA battle between the WNBA and its players.
Players association VP Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx went public last week with a conversation she had recently with league commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who allegedly told her Clark and others “should be on their knees” in appreciation due to the platform the league has given them.
Engelbert later denied ever making those comments about Clark.
“I hate it all for Caitlin. You know, she’s a 23-year-old kid who loves to play this game who is a pawn in a lot of other people’s games and a lot of other people’s narratives,” White said Friday on the Query & Company on 107.5 The Fan in Indianapolis. “And I hate that for her.”
“She is so mature for her age…I mean, think back to when we were 23 years old. Holy cow. But she’s so mature. She has people in her corner and people that can help her. She gets it. She understands the big picture.”
The Fever lost in the league semifinals to the Las Vegas Aces, but Clark didn’t play after July 13 due to quad and groin injuries.
The former Iowa star had won Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 after averaging 19.2 points and 8.4 assists in 40 games.
“No one outside of a Tiger Woods, a Serena Williams, you can probably name just maybe a handful more of athletes who have been the game changers and who have experienced what Caitlin Clark is experiencing,” White said. “(Other than that), no one can really relate to what she’s going through.
“I think the biggest thing is we can be there for her. We can offer perspective and do what we can to help deflect and navigate. But at the same time, it’s a life that she has to lead. And I think she does it admirably … with so much grace and humility.”
Collier had pointedly questioned WNBA leadership, and Engelbert specifically, during her prepared statement after the Lynx season ended in the semifinals against the Phoenix Mercury.
“It’s a tough question because I do believe that where we are and where we have been, especially from a business standpoint, it’s what we’ve needed,” White said. “I do think that there’s another layer and level to having someone who understands the basketball side of the league and whether that’s direct leadership or whether that’s building out our basketball operations, our department within the league.”
White’s suggestion was to have more former players involved in the game’s basketball operations.
“The more that we can get people who have grown up in this league who don’t see this league as it was 10 years ago, as it was 15 years ago. You’ve got to see the league for what it is now and where it’s going,” White said. “The WNBA is not what it was 10 years ago. And I do think that there are some folks in leadership positions who still think of it that way.
“Your employees are your No. 1 asset. We are at a pivotal moment. We are at a time where all things have to be considered, and where multiple truths do exist certainly. I think that sometimes right now in our country and in our world, we forget that multiple truths can exist. But we are at that point to begin to have these very hard conversations about what it looks like moving forward.”
