Dave Portnoy is not having any of Stephanie White’s response to the backlash she faced for not defending Sophie Cunningham.
White found herself on the receiving end of serious backlash from Fever fans for not defending Cunningham more vocally after DiJonai Carrington‘s aggressive foul.
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The Fever head coach was booed by the home fans during the game. White issued a statement clarifying her stance before the game, but Dave Portnoy is not willing to accept her clarification.
Taking to X to respond to Stephanie White’s statement prior to the Indiana Fever‘s game against the New York Liberty, Dave Portnoy lambasted her comments.
He believes that she didn’t issue a sincere apology on the matter and tried to shift the blame to the fans for inciting division within the locker room.
“I am a legit Fever fan. If she just said, I f—– up the other night. I should have defended Sophie (MY PLAYER) and not DJ, so I get why our fans are p—– at me,’ maybe I can accept the apology.
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“But this didn’t really feel like an apology. More her yelling at us for trying to divide the locker room or something. Like blaming us for DJ tweeting ‘white privilege’ in the locker room.
“That’s what is dividing people. Fever fans and players get blamed for everything under the sun. We’re not trying to divide anybody, but it’s Fever vs the world, and we want a coach who feels and acts that way.”
Portnoy’s criticism stems from the notion that White didn’t issue an actual apology for her comments, even though she clarified in her statement that her initial comments came because she hadn’t seen the foul properly.
After the game, both Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark came to their coach’s defense saying that there were no issues between the coaching staff and the locker room.
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However, for fans like Portnoy, the statements from White and the players aren’t enough, as they want a more stern and direct apology from the head coach.
The controversy surrounding Carrington and Cunningham has mutated into a much larger issue, especially in the aftermath of Carrington’s ‘white privilege’ comments.
Things have gotten to the point where the issue isn’t even about the Flagrant 2 foul from Carrington, which was correctly assessed and immediately led to her ejection.
It’s unlikely that White will issue another statement on the matter or try to drag this situation out any further, as it has become a huge distraction for her and the Fever roster.
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