Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White blasted the officiating and the WNBA after Caitlin Clark took what White described as dangerous contact in the team’s 111-109 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on June 24, 2026.
The defeat came two days after the Fever beat Phoenix 86-77 in a heated matchup that featured multiple technical fouls and a growing amount of bad blood between the teams. On Wednesday night, that tension carried over in a rematch at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where Clark was limited to 19 points before leaving in the third quarter with a back injury.
White spoke out after the game, saying Clark was on the receiving end of “two cheap shots” that went unpunished by officials.
“We have a generational talent and an WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that was not called,” she said in a press conference following the match.
Clark later left the contest in the third quarter because of a back issue, although White did not say the injury was caused by the incidents in question. The coach said she did not yet have an update on Clark’s condition after the game.
During the second quarter, Mercury players DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas challenged for the ball, and Thomas appeared to make contact with Clark in the groin before pressing a closed fist into Clark’s throat area.
White made clear how seriously she viewed the sequence.
“The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous.”
Moments later, Thomas also stepped over Clark, adding to the frustration from Indiana’s side.
White then questioned why Clark does not appear to get the same whistle as other players.
“The one thing we keep asking for is consistency, she is not called the same way everybody else is called,” White continued.
She also labeled the conduct ‘egregious’ and said repeated incidents have become increasingly difficult to accept.
“When you have these things continue to happen time and time again, eventually it get’s frustrating.”
Clark’s back issue was the latest injury concern in a season that has already included missed time, and the Fever said after the game they were still assessing her status. She did not return to finish the matchup.
The game itself was one of the most physical of the season for Indiana and Phoenix. The teams had already been jawing in their previous meeting, when the Fever pulled away in the fourth quarter and tempers flared late.
Viewers reacting online expressed disbelief at what they had seen.
“I honestly don’t watch a lot of WNBA games but am watching this one, I mean, is this normal for her?! My goodness!!” one person wrote on X.
Another added: “This is nothing new. Alyssa Thomas has played dirty for years.”
A third viewer, angry that the contact to the throat was not ruled a foul, wrote: “It is uncalled for. These refs are a joke.”
The league also drew attention earlier in the week over another Clark-related officiating issue, after the WNBA reviewed her technical foul from the teams’ June 22 meeting and did not rescind it.
According to Front Office Sports: “Caitlin Clark says she was fined $200 for commenting ‘Refs couldn’t stop us’ on Instagram after the Fever’s Game 2 win over the Dream.”
Caitlin Clark says she was fined $200 for commenting “Refs couldn’t stop us” on Instagram after the Fever’s Game 2 win over the Dream. pic.twitter.com/R8WiS93Xst
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 20, 2025
That decision also prompted backlash from fans.
“That’s ridiculous for such a harmless comment,” one user said.
Another posted: “Does the WNBA realize if they start paying the players more that they can also fine them more?”
White’s comments added to a growing chorus of criticism from Fever supporters, who believe Clark is being officiated differently from other stars as the physicality around her continues to escalate. The two teams are now likely to remain one of the WNBA’s most closely watched and most contentious matchups moving forward.