You don’t betray Indiana Fever fans and get away with it. That’s what DeWanna Bonner did in every Indiana Fever fan’s eyes as she came into the team and received a lot of love during her time. “I just want to say thank you, thank you for all the love I’ve received so far,” She wrote after signing to the team as a free agent in February 2025. Bonner was the veteran who was supposed to bring this team together.

But when the season rolled around, things turned out vastly different from what the fans and Bonner expected. Lexie Hull rose from nowhere and had a more critical role in the team than Bonner, leading to the youngster getting more starts while the veteran was slid back on the bench. This did not please Bonner, and she “gave up” on the team, according to the fans. She asked for a trade to the Mercury to reunite with her fiancée, Alyssa Thomas. In the end, she got her wish, and when the Bonner and the Mercury visited the Gaimbridge Fieldhouse, things were going to get intense. 

As expected from the passionate Fever fans, a 17,274 crowd booed Bonner heavily when she checked into the game with about 7 minutes left in the first quarter, coming off the bench for the Mercury. And as Satou Sabally was walking to inbound the ball, she gestured towards the crowd by clapping a couple of times as a sign to keep them coming. However, when Scott Agness, a premier Indiana Fever reporter, posted the clip, he mislabelled Sabally as Bonner’s fiancée Alyssa Thomas. The WNBA fans were quick to point that out, seeing this as a deliberate attempt to throw some shade at Thomas. 

WNBA Fans Call Out Major Reporting Error by Fever Reporter

The narrative surrounding Bonner’s request for a trade to the Phoenix Mercury specifically was that she wanted to play with her partner. Bonner and Thomas played together for five years with the Connecticut Sun and had developed both an on-court and off-court partnership. That was deemed “unprofessional” by many fans as she requested that trade mid-season, foiling the franchise’s plans and leaving many Fever fans feeling betrayed. So when Agnes accidentally called out Thomas when it was Satou in reality, it irked the WNBA community. 

This immediately called out that the player in the clip is not Thomas, writing, “Ummm wrong player. You can tell by the jersey name & number.” Sabally is jersey No. 0, and it was seen in the video that Thomas is No. 25. Thomas was standing around the three-point line waiting for the play to start. At least in the video posted by him, it was Sabally who seemed to gesture at the crowd. 

Another wrote with the same sentiment while pointing out that it was Sabally writing, “Wrong Afro-American. SaTou Sabally is gesturing.” To which Agness accepted that it was not Thomas in the video, but he noticed her doing something similar afterwards. He replied, “Nope, I was watching AT the whole time. To be clear, it was after I stopped recording — which is why I noted it.” Agnes scored a self-goal here. If Thomas was seen gesturing after the video, he could have just mentioned it in the tweet. It was a slight misrepresentation of the facts, which made fans even more enraged. 

Another fan demanded a correction, writing, “Ummm WRONG!!!! The one clapping is Satou Sabally, not Alyssa! CORRECT THIS.” The tweet from Agnes reached thousands of viewers and WNBA fans. Currently, the video has garnered half a million views and 2.2k likes. However, not everyone will watch it closely enough to understand the mistake, which has led to a negative reputation for Thomas among some fans. Thomas was not involved in the video, which makes it somewhat ambiguous. 

“Leaving up that mistake after seeing its impact play out in real time is just weak, flat-out irresponsible for any journalist,” fired back another fan. When controversies run this hot, every detail counts: getting players’ identities right is critical. Agness claimed Thomas was involved later on, but there’s no video evidence backing that up. That makes his claim questionable at best. Fans’ accounts might help clarify, but the footage shows Satou Sabally, not Thomas, which means Sabally’s name should’ve been front and center. In high-stakes situations like this, only facts should make the story.

In any case, Kahleah Copper from the Mercury camp was unhappy with the crowd’s reception of Bonner, describing the fans’ actions as “very distasteful” because she is a legend and for her contributions to the league. Mercury Coach Nate Tibbets had a different approach, as he said, “That’s how sports work.” Ultimately, the relentless boos appeared to take their toll on Bonner, who managed only 4 points and 1 rebound in 21 minutes as the Mercury suffered their 10th loss of the season, falling 101-107.