The Indiana Fever have battled through one of the toughest injury stretches in the WNBA this season. “We keep signing people, but we’re running out of people to sign. Because our whole roster is injured,” were the words of Sophie Cunningham which perfectly captured their season. How often do you see Caitlin Clark, her backup Sydney Colson, and the reinforcements, Aari McDonald and Odyssey Sims, all go down with injuries? What was supposed to be a season chasing greatness has instead spiraled into one of the most painful chapters in franchise history.

Stephanie White & co. are heading into a crucial stretch that will see them face the Lynx again, followed by the Storm and the Sparks. If it wasn’t looking bad already, the Fever dropped a media report that has quickly become the talk of the town. Right now, they have six players sidelined with injuries.

Joining the list is Chloe Bibby, who sat out the last game against the Lynx after feeling discomfort in her left knee during pregame warm ups. Odyssey Sims follows her with a groin injury she suffered in the same game. They now join an already crowded injury list that includes Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham, and Aari McDonald, all ruled out for the season, while the basketball world continues to patiently wait for Caitlin Clark to return from her groin injury.

This expansive injury list right before the most crucial stretch of the season, is anything but a morale booster. The Fever have brought in Ariel Powers and Shey Peddy on hardship contracts to fill the gaps, but it hardly screams confident. But the Fever aren’t the only ones feeling the sting. The fans are right in it with them, but first, they are going to need some answers.

Fans react to Caitlin Clark and co going down to bare bones

“It’s amazing how the refs allow the rest of the WNBA to assault the Fever players on a regular basis,” one fan commented. This frustration isn’t new among Fever fans. They’ve long felt their players don’t get the calls they deserve, and honestly, they might have a point. Sophie Cunningham’s injury against the Connecticut Sun is perhaps the clearest example of that.

On just the second possession, she was hit with a technical foul after losing control of her dribble while being pressured full-court by Leila Lacan. Both players scrambled for the ball, leading to a jump ball. But after review, officials ruled that Cunningham had shoved Lacan unnecessarily. That call set the tone for the game, as Cunningham later suffered an MCL injury when Bria Hartley awkwardly fell on her knees. Perhaps the refs could have done more to protect players in such situations by making timely foul calls. Definitely something to think about.

And that’s just one example. There have been countless other moments where the Fever didn’t get calls that should have gone their way. The number of times Caitlin Clark was pushed or shoved, only to end up getting hit with a technical for arguing,  had almost become a running theme in Fever games before her injury. One fan even mocked the officials sarcastically, saying, “The next thing, refs won’t have jobs,” hinting that at the rate Fever players are going down, there won’t be anyone left to call fouls against.

But it’s not just the refs that fans are angry with — the Fever organization is taking plenty of heat too. “How exactly did Bibby get hurt? This team is ridiculous on updating fans. We already know CC’s injuries are being misreported,” one fan commented. Bibby, who signed with the Fever on July 25 and impressed by averaging 9 points per game, earned herself a rest-of-the-season contract on August 1. Just 23 days later, she’s already sidelined with an injury.

And she’s not the only one. Odyssey Sims, signed on a hardship contract on August 10 and rewarded with another the following week while averaging 8.5 points per game, is now also sidelined with a groin injury. So what’s really going on with the Fever? Why are so many players getting hurt? One frustrated fan echoed the sentiment, asking, “What are they doing to them in the weight room and at practice? And maybe add some electrolytes for all these muscle injuries…”

Now, it wouldn’t be fair to pin this entirely on Stephanie White’s training regime. After all, not many teams have three hardship-contracted players on their roster like the Fever do right now. Typically, these players don’t log heavy minutes and are used sparingly. But in Indiana, they’ve been thrust into bigger roles, playing far more than they’re accustomed to and that could very well be contributing to their injuries.

But that still doesn’t excuse the Fever organization for keeping injury updates under wraps — at least, not in the eyes of the fans. “They’re going to keep writing (right groin) for Clark, but she’s now on that ankle bone bruise timeline whether they wanna admit it or not,” one fan said. When Clark went down with her third groin injury, the team initially labeled it as “day-to-day.” That, of course, turned out to be far from the truth as it’s now been 14 games since Clark last suited up for Indiana.

It’s worth noting that the Fever eventually updated her status to “no fixed return,” but by then, the damage was already done. Of course, the organization is going to protect its players, and this was their way of doing it. Still, some level of transparency is needed. Just a week ago, Fever insider Chloe Patterson reported that Clark had suffered a minor ankle injury during her recovery, and now fans believe that this might actually be what’s delaying her return.