For 13 years, Scott Agness covered the Indiana Fever with the access that comes from being a credentialed reporter around the team. But now, he finds himself with his credentials revoked, right at the heart of a growing controversy. After Agness reported on Caitlin Clark’s injury status ahead of Indiana’s game against the Portland Fire, the Fever accused him of spreading “inaccurate and unsubstantiated information.”

The move not just drew immediate backlash from the WNBA community but also from fellow reporters and has since prompted an official response from the Professional Basketball Writers Association’s WNBA Chapter.

“The PBWA objects in the strongest possible terms to any reporter losing access for the act of reporting,” the organization said via Front Office Sports‘ Ryan Glasspiegel. “Any effort to prevent reporters from doing the work of informing the public reflects poorly on any team and league that attempts to do so and runs contrary to the best interests of all involved, most of all the public.”

Agness was penalized for reporting Clark’s injury, one that the Fever had mishandled by filing it too late. The Fever had Clark fit in the injury report and ruled her out after 5 PM local time, according to the league rules. And they received a warning from the league as well. However, Agness had gone beyond just reporting the injury.

“Fever guard Caitlin Clark will NOT play tonight vs Portland Fire,” he wrote. “I’m told it’s part of a strategic management plan for the season.”

The ‘strategic management’ plan wording was not acceptable to the franchise. In fact, it was in line with what the team had said.

“I want to play every single game. I want to play 44 games in a season. I’m doing everything I can to do that,” Clark said on May 26. “I’m putting my body in the best position I can to—and I feel really good and really confident in my body, but there are moments where I still struggle a little bit, and I get in my head and things like that, and I’m sore. That’s just the reality of it.”  

Even beyond the ethics, banning a reporter who broke major stories for Fever fans is not favorable for the team’s PR and reputation among the fans. He was also the first to report Caitlin Clark’s bone bruise last year, which eventually ruled her out.

The Fever did not report it until after Agness. According to Chloe Peterson, the team didn’t initially announce it  because they “probably didn’t think it was a big deal.” In addition, Agness also reported that Aliyah Boston has a meniscus injury, while the Fever only revealed it was a lower leg issue. Agness scooped the Fever on Clark’s bone bruise and Boston’s meniscus injury, stories the team wanted to control.  

Scott Agness Reveals Tense Fever Relationship as Ex-WNBPA Target Christine Brennan Backs Him

The Indiana Fever is owned by Herb Simon and his ownership group, who also own the Pacers in the NBA. This co-ownership has its advantages, but for Agness, the arrangement has not worked out well. The reporter has been covering the Pacers as well. But, in recent years, he revealed he has a tense relationship with the NBA franchise.

“Before the start of the 2023-24 season, my access to the team inexplicably shifted overnight—after being the only one to cover every training camp practice—from daily access to weekends only,” he wrote.

Scott further revealed multiple clashes with the franchise regarding breached parking regulations and talks with the security hours before the game. He was also asked not to cover the Summer League games and had his 2025 All-Star credentials denied. However, there is no causal link between the Pacers’ friction and the Fever situation.

“I cannot definitively say whether those Pacers’ circumstances influenced the Fever’s decision,” he wrote. In addition, Agness has received support from a reporter who almost suffered the same fate, Christine Brennan. “Banning a reporter is never the right thing to do,” she wrote. 

In 2024, USA Today’s Brennan had a clash with DiJonai Carrington and DeWanna Bonner during the press conference after she struck Clark in the face while reaching for the ball. Brennan asked Carrington if it was deliberate, which she denied. Brennan further pressed about Carrington laughing about it after the game. “I just told you I didn’t even know I hit her,” Carrington said.

After that tense exchange, DeWanna Bonner confronted Brennan, which was not taken kindly by the WNBPA. They released a statement calling her “unprofessional” and saying that she does not “deserve the credentials issued to her.” However, USA Today backed her, and her credentials remain intact. Agness lacks USA Today’s institutional backing, a vulnerability the Fever exploited.

Nevertheless, this is just one side of the story. Neither the Indiana Fever nor the Pacers has released any information regarding this situation. And until they do, their reputation with regard to media members will continue to suffer.