NewzINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has had enough of the conversations around the WNBA this season that aren’t about basketball. On Tuesday, she finally lashed out. The 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year and one of the original Fever players angrily defended herself after she was criticized for her response to DiJonai Carrington’s flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham, and pleaded with people to focus on the sport and not the continual sideshows.
“The hate, the fear mongering, the divisiveness that’s trying to hijack our league will not win. It won’t win,” White said, her voice rising as she pounded the table in front of her. Every day these women put their ass on the line.
Every day when they go low, we go high. Humility will win and kindness will win. I stand by them, I will always stand by them.
Everybody else can go to hell.” White left immediately after her 2 1/2-minute outburst ended without taking questions. For the Fever, this has been a season full of controversies. It happened again Saturday when Carrington hit Cunningham in the head and neck area, knocking the Fever guard hard to the ground on a breakaway layup.
Cunningham got up and charged toward Carrington but was restrained. Carrington was assessed a Flagrant 2, an automatic ejection. The Chicago Sky player then wrote “WHITE PRIVILEGE” and tagged the Fever on a social media account.
On Monday, Carrington said she never claimed the foul call was “white privilege.” Cunningham has been outspoken about her desire to keep transgender women out of women’s sports, a position that has spurred rallies in support of and opposed to her stance. White initially said she thought the refs got the call right but that she didn’t think that action near the head and neck area was intentional. Critics claimed she was defending Carrington.
Summary from source