Indiana Fever Accused of Having Caitlin Clark at Center of Never-Seen-Before Event in the WNBA

When one player becomes the heartbeat of a league, the entire game changes. For the W, that heartbeat is Caitlin Clark, who just last year packed arenas with over 17,000 for Fever games, even outdrawing the NBA’s Pacers. But after just 13 games in her sophomore season, a groin injury has forced her to shut it all down. Painful? Yes. But here’s the real sting—it’s not just about missing CC on court… could we have been lied to?

No, we’re not saying this, but basketball analysts/youtubers are. Ever since Caitlin Clark got sidelined with her right groin injury in mid-July, eyes have been on Stephanie White for an update. So, she did share. “That’s the hope,” White said in a postgame press conference. “She’s working as hard as she can to make sure that she is coming back or is capable of coming back. I think the long-term viewpoint of her health and wellness is the most important thing.” And it all made sense. But a return was never really in the books…

As Caitlin Clark finally took it into her own hands and updated X about calling off the season due to injury, it agitated a few in the community. And they’ve got a point. “They’ve been prolonging a day-to-day injury for months, for freaking months. I’ve never seen anything like this in sports history… I’ve never, this Caitlin Clark thing, I’ve never seen anything like this. This is insanity, guys,” shared Keep the Vision’s host in the recent episode.

“It’s insanity. The Indiana Fever and Stephanie White, she’s just a puppet. She has strings in her back. The ownership down, the management, Amber Cox,…they are telling her what to say and what to do. They are leading the fans on to believe that there’s a chance that Caitlin will return when they know goddamn well she’s done. They know she’s done,” the analyst added. Ever since CC went out, she really had been marked as day-to-day. But as CC started to participate in practices, shooting drills, many thought she was on her way to return.

Earlier this month, White even shared that she wanted to see CC participate in “multiple practices” before she returned to game action. Though she shared that the team would have limited practice time, it could include 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 for her. “She hasn’t been able to do a whole lot of contact,” Fever coach Stephanie White said back then. “She’s been able to get up-and-down 5-on-0, been able to do shooting, but hasn’t been able to get a whole lot of contact.”

So yeah, we were gifted a lens to see that CC might return soon. That isn’t happening, and the way the update was delivered only adds to the suspicion around Indiana’s handling. As Mic put it better on the latest episode of his podcast show Mic Talks Hoops, “I’ve been around sports, I’ve never seen this level of secrecy… You can’t give out detailed medical records, but this isn’t detailed medical records.” When the latest update came out, it was from Caitlin Clark, but mostly it ain’t the athlete who posts updates about the injury.

The KTV host even said that he’s only seen something like this in 2018 with Kawhi Leonard, which stirred a lot of drama for the normally composed Spurs. Leonard was diagnosed with a quad injury, and at least 12 updates came out in around five months before he was ruled out for the Spurs’ first-round series against the Warriors. Similar questions kept brewing back then. What’s really happening? Is the injury more serious than reported? Is Kawhi frustrated with the Spurs? Are internal dynamics affecting his rehab? Or are there legitimate medical reasons behind the ongoing delays?

When it comes to Clark, we have seen more than 12 updates since May and a lot of vague back and forth. Why? As per the host and many others – to keep collecting ticket money.

Is Indy’s secrecy a marketing move?

Maybe. Ever since the arrival of Caitlin Clark in the W, the Fever have capitalized on it as much as they could. Even last season, Indy ended up recording an average home attendance of 17,000—enough to surpass their NBA counterparts, the Pacers. They even shattered the home and league attendance records with a 264.6% jump in ticket sales and attendance.

So, disclosing the update early about CC would have caused a major dip. By dangling the possibility of a superstar’s return, Indy ensured viewers would tune in. As Mic put it better in the same podcast, “They cared more about marketing than they did about basketball in the offseason. There’s no question about that, that the front office and everyone care more about marketing than basketball, and it’s just, for me, I think it’s completely unacceptable.”

We’ve already seen the effects of her prolonged injury. Indy’s games sank from an average of 1.81 million viewers to just 847,000—a sharp 50% plunge. Even ticket resale prices tanked dramatically after her absence was confirmed. So a similar kind of impact could’ve been imagined if CC had been declared out much earlier.

This could be a marketing move they have taken out of the NBA’s playbook. Back in 2018, when LeBron James got injured during the Finals, the Cavaliers did the same. They posted an update, but the injury was more severe than the team reported.