Stephen A. Smith has had enough of Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White.
The ESPN star called out White for how she handled DiJonai Carrington’s hard foul on Sophie Cunningham during a recent game, with the coach talking rather glowingly of Carrington’s tenacity before backing away and saying she didn’t see the whole play in the moment.
White later offered a passionate defense, stating how she has her players’ backs, but fans weren’t buying it and neither was Smith, as boos rained down from the rafters before Tuesday’s home game.
“There are folks in Indiana at a home game booing you!” Smith said while raising his voice to a scream on the show. “You ain’t the road team. You’re the home team … and they’re booing you!”
White has been under fire in the aftermath of Carrington’s controversial foul on Cunningham in which she whacked her across the face, earning a flagrant 2.
When asked about the hard foul after the game, White initially praised Carrington – whom she coached with the Connecticut Sun in 2024 – for her willingness to give a hard foul on a layup attempt.
After Carrington’s ejection, she posted on social media, “White Privilege @Fever.”
“It was a hard foul. I don’t think that DiJonai intentionally came out to get her across the neck like she did, but it did happen and I thought it was the right call. But one of the things about [Carrington] is that she’s gonna play her butt off, man,” White said. “She’s gonna compete. Nobody’s gonna go walking in for a layup. And so I don’t oppose the hard foul, but I also don’t think that she intentionally went for the neck.”
Those comments immediately sparked backlash, with some claiming that White did not properly defend one of her stay players.
The outrage grew to the point that White offered a lengthy statement Tuesday to defend herself against the accusations.
“For those who have anything to say about the play in the last game, I didn’t see the play in real time,” White said. “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. 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.”
Smith, though, is still not happy with White’s explanation for why she praised an opposing player for what, by most accounts, was a dirty play by Carrington.
“How are you the head coach … and you didn’t see the play? … It’s your job to … watch the game. How did you not see the play?” Smith said.
Cunningham and Fever star Caitlin Clark both backed their coach after boos spread throughout the arena during Tuesday’s 108-92 win over the Liberty.
Cunningham said she knows that “Coach loves them,” while claiming that the drama was just outside noise.
Clark added that the boos in their home arena made her “a little sick.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
