Caitlin Clark “feels great” after heading to locker room during loss to Wings
Fever’s Caitlin Clark shared an update from her trip to the locker room during Indiana University’s 107-104 loss to the Dallas Wings and reacted to the game.
sports pulse
Caitlin Clark was ruled out at the last minute after missing the first game of the season, and Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White’s comments about the decision raised more questions than answers.
On Wednesday, May 20, an hour and a half before the Fever’s 90-73 victory over the Portland Fire, the Fever announced that Clark would be out with a back injury.
The WNBA requires teams to submit injury reports by 5 p.m. in the contest’s time zone the day before a game. From then on, if a new injury or illness occurs, teams must immediately notify the league of any changes in status.
This year, the WNBA introduced a new game status reporting system that generates real-time injury/illness reports for all 15 teams every 15 minutes for fans to view.
The league has fined teams in the past for not adhering to these rules. USA TODAY spoke to multiple people familiar with the league’s policy. Based on these conversations, it’s reasonable to expect the league to investigate the circumstances that led to Clark’s absence.
Stephanie White’s comments cause confusion
Coach White said in his pregame press conference that Clark did not participate in Tuesday’s practice and instead received treatment. White added that the team’s general approach is to wait and see how players’ bodies react.
“(Clark) just woke up and felt some stiffness and pain,” White said. “For us, this is not the time to take chances. We want to be really cautious.”
Although early reports claimed Clark’s absence was “part of the strategic management plan for the season,” White said that was not the case.
Asked if Clarke’s absence was related to injury management, White said: “No, absolutely not.” “She’s healthy. We’re not managing anything. This is just a back issue and we want to give her time to get ready.”
Given that Clark’s long-term availability would be in jeopardy if he played Wednesday, White has a looser definition of the word “healthy” than most. Aside from that word choice, the choice to keep Clark out certainly sounds like part of a load management strategy. Another reasonable explanation is that Clark is injured. White opposed both of these ideas, so it’s understandable that fans would be confused.
After the game, White received multiple questions about Clark and why her status wasn’t updated sooner.
“Not everyone who doesn’t practice or miss their pro day is going to be on the injury report. That happens all the time,” White said. “She was not listed on the previous injury report because we expected her to play.”
When asked if Clark was injured, White encouraged reporters to contact the training staff for more information. This is the second time this season she has made such a recommendation, and the media is not allowed to interview any team’s training staff.
“Her back hurts,” White said. “If there’s anything more detailed than that, it’s the training staff.”
This back injury is not one of the many ailments that plagued Clark during his limited 2024 campaign. It first became public after the team’s season-opening loss to the Dallas Wings, when the former Iowa Hawkeye returned to play after going to the locker room for hip adjustments.
“That’s going to continue,” White said of Clark’s return at the time. “If she wasn’t okay, we wouldn’t have played 30 minutes with her.”
Will the Indiana Fever be fined?
Asked by reporters whether he expected Fieber to be fined for not promptly providing updates on Clark’s status, White told reporters, “No, no.”
People familiar with league policy suggested it was too early to know whether that was true. If the league investigates the matter, its first concern will likely be regarding Clark’s absence from practice on Tuesday.
None of the local media reporting on the fever incident reported Mr. Clark’s absence from court that day. This is likely because Clark was there in practice gear, and teams are only required to open 30 minutes of practice to media viewing.
If Clark’s back discomfort was serious enough to warrant him missing practice, WNBA media policy experts agree he should have at least been added as a “possible” to the status report.
Clark’s lower back discomfort continued the next morning, so it’s unclear why the team didn’t report the situation by the afternoon, something the league will likely try to figure out.
There are no clear guidelines for fines in the WNBA, and experts said fines are imposed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account past violations. The league is also not required to announce whether it is investigating a fever or whether a team has been penalized.
If your team doesn’t follow the rules for status reporting, it’s unlikely that they’ll be penalized.
In a recent example, nearly two years ago, the Las Vegas Ace was fined an undisclosed sum in similar circumstances.
The day before the game against the New York Liberty on September 8, 2024, the Aces had not reported any injuries, leading many to believe that current four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, who was injured late in the game last time out against the Connecticut Sun, would be available. Wilson was then ruled out on game day, arriving at the arena wearing a medical boot. Aces coach Becky Hammon said after the game that Wilson’s absence was a “precautionary measure” and that the Aces were penalized.
