Indiana Fever Face Heat as Roster Update Overshadows Caitlin Clark’s Nike Logo on Social Media

Clark was the kind of rookie the WNBA had circled in its wish list for years. In 2024, she helped the league hit viewership highs it had only daydreamed about. So when Year 2 rolled around and she barely played, the assumption was simple: no Clark, no ratings. Except…ratings are actually up 21%. But don’t forget that while the league is thriving even without her, that’s also because of her. Clark opened the door, but fans discovered there’s an entire house worth exploring – A’ja Wilson dominating, Napheesa Collier rising, and so on. And now W’s growth feels less like a passing fad and more like the start of a golden era. Still, is it time when not just the league, but even the Fever needs to be reminded of the saying, “Don’t bite the hand that fed you“?

It all came up after the Indiana Fever took to social media and shared another roster update. On X, the team shared a poster of Shey Peddy in action, wearing the Fever jersey, with a caption that read, “We have signed Shey Peddy to a second 7-day hardship contract.” The Fever initially signed Peddy under a seven-day hardship contract on August 19. The veteran guard recently posted 16 points against the Minnesota Lynx before signing another contract with the franchise. While this news comes as a huge surprise for fans and the locker room, some were quick to note the bias against none other than Caitlin Clark.

Remember when Matt Barnes, the former NBA player, blasted the WNBA as a whole? “The WNBA has a golden goose sitting in their league, and has done… everything to kind of discredit the momentum and eyeballs she has brought to this game,” he said. And when Dick Vitale of ESPN went after the players for pushing her into a 9th spot in All-Star voting? “I feel strongly that various players don’t give Caitlin Clark the respect she deserves,” Vitale told FOS. “What she has done to help the WNBA has been unbelievable. Think about it. PR excitement. Ticket sales. TV Ratings and interest. Salary increases. More charter flights than the past. Plus, she is so exciting to watch. Lots of jealousy.”

Well, just add Indiana Fever to the list of people snubbing Caitlin Clark. But is there any truth to the recent allegations being made against them?

Fans Overshadow Indiana Fever’s latest move

While the Fever were busy planning their next playoff move, Nike rolled out Caitlin Clark’s shiny new status as a signature athlete. And this isn’t one of those “slap a star’s initials on a shirt and call it a day” situations. Clark was in the design trenches with Nike’s creative squad, tweaking details until it felt personal. The big bold interlocking C’s are a nod to her bond with the basketball world, while a sneaky smaller C is tucked inside, like an Easter egg symbolizing her grit and growth. The first wave of gear kicks off September 1 with a navy-and-yellow tee on nike.com, followed by the full Clark closet starter pack – hoodies, shorts, pants – dropping October 1.

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To me, this is more than just a logo, it’s a dream come true…People always talk about leaving your mark on the game — and this is another way I can do that,” Clark said, but fans think the Fever isn’t concerned about her mark. Thinking the team ignored Clark’s achievement, fans in turn overshadowed Shey Peddy’s contract news by congratulating Caitlin Clark and the launch of her customised Nike logo in the comment section. “Awesome… And Congratulations Caitlin, on your New Logo. You deserve it,” a user wrote.

Many were upset with the snub, especially when you looked at how other teams set the bar. The Chicago Sky, for instance, have spent most of the season hanging out near the bottom of the standings like they’re paying rent there, but even they didn’t forget to hype up their star. When Reebok rolled out Angel Reese’s shiny new signature logo along with her PE “Pretty Gritty” Engine A sneaker, the Sky made sure to repost the news to their Instagram Stories. So, “Caitlin just released her signature Nike logo and y’all can’t even!? It’s ridiculous how you treat your star player when she basically revived this entire league & your franchise. It’s a damn shame how you treat her. Even Sky & Vegas supported their stars when they released theirs,” one fan said, while another added, “Give Caitlin some love and release her news of a new logo… what are you doing?“

But to be fair, a quick scroll through the Indiana Fever’s Instagram tells a different story. Instead of just hitting repost on Nike’s announcement, the team went bigger—dropping a full-on dedicated post for Caitlin Clark. The caption read, “Caitlin Clark’s new Nike signature logo right outside @gainbridgefieldhouse.” The poster itself was hard to miss: bold blue logo overhead, a ball swishing through the net, and the words “Clark was here” stamped across it. And just to make sure no one doubted their love for their star any further, they even shared a video of fans at the Seattle game giving their thoughts on the logo. ““I love it so much.” 🔥we asked the fans at tonight’s game what they thought of Caitlin Clark’s new Nike signature logo,” the team wrote on X.

Scroll a bit further, and another post from four hours ago shows a video of coach Stephanie White talking on the subject with the caption, “It’s special. There’s very few people who get the opportunity to say they have a logo.” head coach Stephanie White on Caitlin Clark’s impact and the launch of her new Nike signature logo ❤️”. The celebrations for the logo don’t stop there. There’s another post captioned, “A look at @GainbridgeFH all dressed up with Caitlin Clark’s Nike signature logo t-shirts,” and another, “squad stepped out in the “Caitlin was here” logo t-shirt for tonight’s game”. Again, to be honest, a few more.

And the Fever even announced that every fan in attendance for the Storm game will receive a “Caitlin was here” t-shirt to celebrate her Nike signature logo launch, writing, “Caitlin was here and so were you“. Another announcement said, “help us celebrate the launch of Caitlin Clark’s Nike signature logo with a pregame party on Morris Bicentennial Plaza ahead of tonight’s game the party is open to the public starting at 4 p.m., so come by for your chance to take photos and more!”. 

Still and all, users went on and threatened to block the account – “I adore Caitlin and refuse your bs. Blocking this account for being unfair and despicable to a star player,” as another wrote, “Literally posting about a new player BUT giving 0 love for the CC logo being released. That’s so disrespectful… But y’all put a like and posted on her IG account. I mean, come on.” And sure, the CC posts on Twitter came around an hour later after the Peddy one. But it was big and they had to do it right, which they eventually did. Besides that, they did post on Instagram timely manner, so…do you also feel Indiana Fever snubbed Caitlin Clark?