10
Loading video...
By Andrew McCarty
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Immediately after Indiana's victory over the Chicago Sky over the weekend, Fever head coach Stephanie White suggested Sky star DiJonai Carrington didn't intend to injure Fever guard Sophie Cunningham with a hard foul that saw her ejected from the contest.
"Look, it was a hard foul," White said about the foul. "It did happen, and I thought it was the right call. One of the things about [Carrington] is that she's going to play her butt off, man. She's going to compete. Nobody's going to go walking in for a layup. I don't oppose the hard foul, but I also don't think that she intentionally went for the neck."
After taking a few days to rethink the incident, White changed her tune slightly.
Read More on Sports
More WNBA: Fever’s Sophie Cunningham Blames WNBA Media for ‘Distraction’
...
More WNBA: Shaquille O’Neal Delivers Blunt Message to Caitlin Clark: ‘Toughen Up’
"Our players' success, our players' health and wellness, our players' safety is always a top priority for me," she said before revealing she saw the play live, but didn't get a chance to rewatch the incident before speaking with reporters.
"Thankfully, Sophie's OK. 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," she admitted.
She made it clear that she'll always have her players' backs in a new comment made after she was booed before the team's 106-92 victory over the New York Liberty on Tuesday night.
"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 the time. They know that," she said.
The Fever improved to 21-12 with the win.
More WNBA: Shaq Reveals Why WNBA Rivals Are ‘Jealous’ of Caitlin Clark
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines