Fever coach Stephanie White unloads on WNBA critics: 'Go to hell'

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White spent her pregame news conference Tuesday denouncing "the hate, the fear mongering (and) the divisiveness" hijacking the league, vitriol that reached a boiling point over the weekend after DiJonai Carrington committed a hard foul against Sophie Cunningham on Aug. 8.

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"It's a shame we can't have an opportunity to talk about what great basketball they're playing because they are (expletive) playing," White said during an impassioned speech ahead of the Fever's game against the New York Liberty. "Every day these women put their ass on the line. Love will win. Grace will win. Humility will win, and kindness will win."

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White concluded her speech, "I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell."

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Stephanie White made the following statement before tonight's game: pic.twitter.com/VkYThRldsu

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) August 11, 2026

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White opened her pregame news conference by addressing the Flagrant 2 foul called on Chicago's Carrington, who was subsequently ejected from the Fever's win over the Sky on Aug. 8 for making "unnecessary and excessive" contact with Cunningham's neck.

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Immediately after the incident, White said officials made "the right call" in her postgame remarks, adding she didn't think Carrington intentionally fouled Cunningham. White coached Carrington for two seasons in Connecticut from 2023-24 and said Carrington is known for "play(ing) her butt off."  

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"(Carrington's) going to compete. Nobody's going to go walking in for a layup," White said Aug. 8. "And so I don't oppose the hard foul, but I also don't think that she intentionally went for the neck."

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On Tuesday, White shot down any claims she didn't have her player's back and clarified she hadn't properly seen a replay of the foul before she spoke postgame.

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"For those who have anything to say about the play in the last game, I didn't see the play in real time. I went straight to a press conference," White explained Tuesday. "I thought the play got called right. Thankfully, Sophie's okay. Was it egregious? Absolutely. When you have a chance to watch that over and over and over on replay, you can see that. I didn't have that in real time."

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White added, "An online community (is) trying to create narratives that simply don't exist. Trying to create a fabrication or distortion of who I am, of what I'm about... I take personally any suggestions that I don't 100% always have my players' back. I ride with them 10 toes down all the time. All of the time. They know that. Our players' success, our players' health and wellness, our players' safety is always a top priority for me. One of the things I pride myself on is my relationship with players."

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White said the toxic online commentary dominating headlines has overshadowed the amazing basketball that's taking place day in and day out, which she called "a shame."

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"We are united. We are connected. We will not be divided," White said.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fever coach Stephanie White unloads on WNBA critics: 'Go to hell'

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