Stephanie White has slammed WNBA referees for their officiating of Indiana Fever games so far this season.
The Fever head coach described some calls against her team as ‘egregious’ in an astonishing rant after a tight 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty on Saturday.
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A controversial no-call during a play that involved Caitlin Clark late in the fourth drew particular frustration.
New York’s Natasha Cloud made contact with Indiana’s star during the game’s final possession, but referees did not blow the whistle.
“I thought she got fouled,” White said post-game.
“I think it’s pretty egregious what’s been happening to us the last few games. Minus 31 free throw discrepancy.
“I might be able to understand it if we’re just chucking threes. But we’re not, we’re attacking the rim.
“The disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable.
“So, it’s disappointing, you know, that it doesn’t go both ways, or it hasn’t gone both ways.”
White also acknowledged the WNBA has a process in place for teams to communicate disagreements with referee decisions, but questioned whether it actually works.
She continued: “There’s a system to making sure that we can send stuff in and communicate our grievances, so to speak.
“I don’t know if I have a feeling that the system works. We’re not looking for a change, we’re just looking for consistency.”
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Clark, meanwhile, was also left astounded by the no-call, which came during a pivotal moment in the game.
With less than three seconds to play, the Fever’s star player had possession in front of the three-point line and went up for a shot.
But the ball was ripped away by Cloud as the buzzer sounded, confirming New York’s win.
Clark, who came face to face with Sabrina Ionescu after smashing her WNBA landmark, was furious with the call.
With her arms thrown up in exasperation, she was seen crying out, ‘You gotta be kidding me’ as she turned to confront a referee.
She appeared to follow that up by asking, ‘Are you serious?’ as the Liberty began their victory celebrations.
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Teammate Sophie Cunningham also jumped in to question the call alongside Clark, who was involved in a row with another rival last week.
New York shared a clip of the incident on social media as they celebrated the win, but their replies were soon flooded by fans also questioning the call.
“Posting the clip of an obvious reach in foul. Have some shame,” one person responded.
“Refs win. Refs win. Refs win,” another claimed.
“I love my Liberty team but those refs gave yall that win,” a third wrote.
“You didn’t win s***. The WNBA and their refs gave it to you,” a fourth fumed.
With defeat against the Liberty, the Fever fell to 2-2 on the season.
And while Coach White argued they have been on the wrong end of some controversial decisions in those games, she also warned her players about getting caught up in the officiating.
“We can’t allow that to consume us,” she said, amid calls for superstar Clark to boycott the WNBA and put the league ‘out of business’.
“We’ve got to be able to play through that, we’ve got to be able to control the things we can control.”
The Fever next face the 2-2 Washington Mystics on Wednesday night.
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