Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham defend coach Stephanie White after pregame rant as Indiana Fever beat New York Liberty

Indiana Fever stars Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham spoke out in strong support of head coach Stephanie White on Tuesday after her emotional pregame media session. The Fever responded on the court with a 106-92 victory over the New York Liberty, turning a tense day into a statement win.

White used her entire pregame availability to address criticism that followed her earlier comments about an on-court incident involving Cunningham and Chicago Sky forward DiJonai Carrington. After initially saying the contact did not appear intentional, White watched the replay and changed her view.

Players stand firm behind their coach

Sophie Cunningham made clear the team remains united. “There’s just been a lot of outside noise,” Cunningham said. “But our locker room is good.”

She added, “Our locker room in there, it’s tight, and we have each other’s backs. Coach loves us.”

Caitlin Clark offered a personal perspective. She had spoken with White earlier and recognized the pressure coaches face. “I think we forget a lot of times, like, we’re human and she has feelings,” Clark said. “There’s moments that are really hard.”

Drawing from her own experiences with intense public scrutiny, Clark continued, “I’ve been through the same thing. There’s been days where I’ve been really upset, and you can have the thickest skin in the world, but sometimes it does get to you.”

Sophie Cunningham addresses the DiJonai Carrington incident

Sophie Cunningham explained why Stephanie White’s first reaction after Saturday’s game differed from her later comments. White had praised DiJonai Carrington’s competitiveness and agreed with the officials’ decision at the time. Cunningham pointed out a simple fact.

“She didn’t see the clip,” Cunningham said. “At the end of the day, she didn’t see the clip.”

White confirmed the same detail. “I didn’t see the play in real time. I went straight to a press conference. 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.”

Cunningham noted that White previously coached Carrington with the Connecticut Sun and could respect her skills while still supporting her own players. “She is a hell of a player. She’s a great defender,” Cunningham said of Carrington. “Give her her flowers, and she didn’t see it. And that’s OK.”

She left no doubt about her relationship with the coach. “Me and Steph are great. Steph is great with all of us.”

Focus returns to basketball and team unity

Cunningham said the constant outside discussion no longer occupies her mind. “I really don’t care anymore. I’m trying to keep the main thing the main thing.”

The win itself felt like a release. “With everything going on, that’s kind of been hard to do,” Cunningham said. “Tonight was the night that we all just, like, clicked, and we had fun, and we did it for Steph, and we did it for everyone in the locker room.”

Clark told White before tip-off that the team would deliver. “I can assure you there was no way we were losing this game tonight. And I told her that before the game. Like, there was no way we were losing this game for her.”

She also reacted to the boos White heard during introductions. “I hated that our fans booed her before the game. That made me a little sick, to be honest.”

Clark stressed that disagreement from outside would not split the group. “We’re going to ride for her, and we’re always going to have her back. That’s never going to tear our locker room apart.”

She finished with a direct message of support. “I just love her, and I feel for her because I know it can be a lot at times. We really just did it for her, and we did it for each other and the girls in our locker room.”

White closed her pregame remarks by rejecting division. “The hate, the fear-mongering, the divisiveness, the stuff that’s trying to hijack our league will not win. It won’t win. We are united. We are connected. We will not be divided.”

She added, “Every day, these women put their a** on the line. Every day. When they go low, we go high. Love will win, grace will win. Humility will win and kindness will win. I stand by them, I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell.”

Clark also spoke about the wider atmosphere surrounding the league. “Our world is just like, we love to hate. We love to divide. Nobody wants to see each other succeed. We need to do a better job at uplifting each other.”

The Fever’s strong performance against a top Eastern Conference opponent showed the group remains locked in as the season moves forward.