After videos circulated online of Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White having a heated conversation on the bench during the Fever’s 100-84 road loss to the Portland Fire on Saturday, women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller shared her thoughts on what it means for the team moving forward.
“Right now, it’s frustration. And unfortunately, it’s boiling over and it’s being seen,” Miller stated on NBC’s WNBA halftime coverage. “It’s one thing to have it behind closed doors, but (it’s another thing) when it spills over, and when the coach has to basically say ‘you know what Caitlin, enough is enough, this is too disruptive, in and out, take a seat.'”
In the halftime segment, another WNBA legend, Sue Bird, gave her perspective on the tensions between Clark and White.
“I agree. I think it’s frustration. I’m not the best lip reader, but I feel like Stephanie White did say defense a couple times, and Caitlin Clark was in foul trouble this game, and obviously we know how things were being called.
“So I think it is a lot of frustration, but it’s also not that crazy. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this. It doesn’t have some deeper meaning to it. I’ve had moments like that with coaches. I think it speaks to relationships, player-coach relationships,” Bird added.
Clark, whose minutes were limited due to foul trouble on Saturday, had a season-low six points on 1-for-7 shooting and 4-for-5 at the free-throw line, six assists, two rebounds, and one steal in 22 minutes of action.
Clark and White addressed the incident on Monday, both downplaying any lingering tension between the two.
With the Fever idle until Thursday, there will certainly need to be several areas of Indiana’s game addressed before they clash with the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 4.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Cheryl Miller reacts to Caitlin Clark, Stephanie White bench spat
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
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