The Indiana Fever’s meteoric rise in popularity has brought unprecedented attention to the franchise, but not all of it has been positive. Behind the growing spotlight, multiple Fever players have reported racist abuse online and in arenas, yet the franchise has not publicly addressed it. And though attention often revolved around Caitlin Clark, the consequences have quickly spread to those sharing the court with her.
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“A lot of players who are experiencing this harassment online, threatening messages, racist messages, when you step into that arena, then, you’re carrying with you the weight of all the things that you’ve received via this screen,” veteran journalist Annie Costabile said during an appearance on the Flagrant and Funny podcast. The segment was clipped and posted to Instagram.
“There’s also experiences that sources relayed to me that have happened in real life, including multiple players being called a racial slur in Indiana. What I was told, and what I reported, is that this has not happened in other arenas… The franchise’s inability to address these issues puts it on the players then to address these issues. So you now are in a situation where Kelsey’s having to speak to this… Caitlin has become the face of this toxicity because the franchise is not owning it.”
Costabile, The Athletic’s WNBA beat writer, revealed her findings in a recent article. In it, she and Brian Hamilton spoke to players, league executives, and agents representing 60 athletes across the WNBA, and “found that the widespread perception of the Indiana Fever experience — no matter what jersey you wear — clouds the franchise’s path forward.”
Several agents reported having to deactivate social media accounts around Fever games because of the relentless online toxicity they faced. One agent also added that players had received racist messages following games against Indiana, and though this doesn’t mean every abusive message comes from a Fever fan, it points to concerns that need to be addressed by the team, especially considering that their own players have had to weigh in on the situation.
Following the team’s playoff elimination against the Las Vegas Aces, Kelsey Mitchell offered a glimpse into how the attention around Clark affects her teammates. The guard spoke about the abuse she received online.
“If I showed y’all my DMs about the hate and all of the stuff that comes with being a professional athlete, but specifically being an Indiana Fever basketball player, it’s a lot that goes into that,” Mitchell said in her exit interview.
“Playing with (Caitlin Clark) and having the eyes that she’s got (on her), we get a lot of flak just from being on her team. I think that that comes with a lot too.”
Her response was in direct opposition to what recently fired Fever GM Amber Cox had said. During her interview, she came out in support of Fever fans, saying that “attacks” on Fever fans had “no basis in reality.”
“We did not have one fan pointed out by a player who violated the WNBA code of conduct this season,” she said. “Our fans love this team. They’re going to cheer, they’re going to boo, and sometimes they might point. It’s a home-court advantage for a reason.”
However, knowing of the abuse is one thing, but addressing it is another matter entirely. For Costabile, the question is how Indiana can move forward. The team has already parted ways with Cox and president Kelly Krauskopf, and with Aliyah Boston already under an EPIC extension, Costabile believes new leadership will have to “set the tone.”
“Some of the suggestions I heard from sources varied from the Indiana Fever consistently calling out the toxic behavior,” she said.
“If that’s every game, that’s every game. But acting like it’s not happening or acting like there isn’t a difference between what’s happening in Indiana versus other markets, this person was like, ‘They have to stop doing that. This isn’t just the typical fan behavior.'”
As Clark, Boston, Mitchell, and their teammates continue to represent the Fever on the court, the responsibility to address the environment cannot rest on the players alone.