Stephanie White makes personal admission amid Fever controversy

Being one of the most popular teams in all of professional sports comes with its fair share of drawbacks for the Indiana Fever. Caitlin Clark and Co. always seem to find themselves in some sort of controversy. This is something that head coach Stephanie White has learned to deal with now that she’s in her second season in Indiana.

The most recent controversy centered on Clark’s incident with Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas. The WNBA punished Thomas with a one-game suspension after driving her fist into Clark’s throat during their June 24 matchup.

White was incensed after that game. She called out both the referees and the WNBA for failing to protect Clark from such physical attacks during games. The former Coach of the Year fumed as she passionately complained about the “unacceptable” treatment of her cornerstone superstar.

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White talks with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22).

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White cools off after Caitlin Clark drama

White has had the chance to move on from the incident after more than a week. At this point, White, Clark, the Fever and pretty much the entire WNBA world want to put all this drama behind.

As she spoke to the media following Sunday’s 84-68 road win over the Las Vegas Aces, White was asked about how she dealt with this most recent controversy. The 49-year-old acknowledged that having an eight-day break between games helped her get away from all the noise.

White also revealed how she took some personal time to ease the burden.

“I think, first and foremost, my family, my kids, my partner, everybody around that certainly helps,” said the Fever coach. “I also had an opportunity to play in a charity golf event, and it was a charity golf event for a children’s hospital in Chicago. And when you see families that are going through really tough times and they just want a little bit of hope, it helps you gain perspective about what’s important and how you approach the game, because it is a game.

“Yes, we want to win. Yes, it’s high stakes. But at the same time, we’re talking about human beings, and we’re talking about people that go through real-life things.

“And so I think it gave me an opportunity to just regain perspective and understanding, and a breath of fresh air, so to speak, and coming in and just having fun with our group.”

As White emphasized in her postgame press conference, at the end of the day, basketball is just a game. She was reminded of this important fact during a recent encounter with the less fortunate. This really put things into perspective for the veteran coach as she continues to navigate another challenging WNBA season.