RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White responded after her defense of DiJonai Carrington’s foul on Sophie Cunningham received major backlash.
White had suggested that Carrington was making a basketball play and knew from their time together on the Connecticut Suns that she wasn’t a dirty player.
However, many took umbrage with her comments as they felt she wasn’t doing enough to defend her current player, Sophie Cunningham.
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Stephanie White responds to Sophie Cunningham backlash
In the immediate aftermath of the foul from DiJonai Carrington on Sophie Cunningham, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White seemingly defended the play.
“I don’t oppose the hard foul, and I also don’t think she intentionally went for the neck.”
In the days since her comments, White has come under fire from fans for not coming to the staunch defense of Cunningham and her other players.
As such, prior to the Fever’s game against the New York Liberty, White made a powerful statement about how much she stands by her players.
“I’m going to start today. This isn’t necessarily for those people that are in this room. This is more for an online community that’s trying to create narratives that simply don’t exist. Trying to create a fabrication or distortion of who I am and what I am about.
“Our players’ success, our players’ health and wellness and players’ safety is always a top priority for me. One of the things I pride myself on is my relationships with players.
“For those who have anything to say about the play in the last game, I didn’t see the play in real time. I went straight to a press conference. I thought the play got called right.
“Thankfully, Sophie is okay. Was it egregious? Absolutely. If you have a chance to watch that over and over on replay, you can see that. I didn’t have that in real time.
“I take personally any suggestions that I don’t 100% have my players’ backs. I ride with them, ten toes down all the time. All the time! They know that.
“It’s a shame that we can’t have an opportunity to talk about what great basketball they are playing. Because they are f—— playing! The reality is with me, I will always lead with love, I will always lead with grace, I will always lead with humility, and I will always lead with humility.
“Doesn’t mean I will always get it right. I’m also human. The hate, the fear-mongering, the divisiveness, the stuff that is trying to hijack our league will not win! It won’t win! We are united. We are connected. We will not be divided! Every day, these women put their a—– on the line! Every day!
“When they go low, we go high! Love will win! Grace will win! Humility will win! And Kindness will win! I stand by them, I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to h—!”
It’s clear that White took the comments about her not sticking up for Cunningham quite personally and wanted to clarify her stance on the matter.
Given that Cunningham has become somewhat of a polarising figure for her recent stances, the opposition to White’s comments was because some felt it was White possibly following a WNBA agenda to discredit Cunningham.
However, the head coach has made it clear that she has Cunningham’s back and will not accept any suggestions that she doesn’t have her players’ best interests in mind.
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