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Indiana Fever Coach Stephanie White's Honest Reaction to Unexpected WNBA News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 6:57 PM ET

The Indiana Fever are entering a crucial matchup on Tuesday night as they battle the No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces in Game 2 of their WNBA playoffs semifinal series. The Fever flipped the script in Game 1 by stealing a road win in the series-opener, thereby placing themselves in a great position to advance to the WNBA Finals.

Fever head coach Stephanie White spoke to reporters after her team’s morning shootaround. While there were many questions about the upcoming big game, the first issue she faced was the firing of New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello.

After coaching the Liberty to a championship in 2024, Brondello failed to lead New York to a title defense this year. The front office decided that it would be in the team’s best interest to part ways with the 57-year-old.

When asked to share her reaction to the big news, White had nothing but good things to say about Brondello.

"Just disappointed, obviously, for Sandy," White said. "She's a great coach, great human being. Of course, in our profession, you hate to see that."

While there may have been signs of Brondello’s imminent departure, New York’s drastic decision still came as a surprise for more than a few folks. The Liberty finished fifth in the league with a 27-17 record, and they got eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Mercury, but some might argue that Brondello deserves more leeway, considering how she won a championship less than 12 months ago.

White, however, appears content with staying in her lane regarding this issue. The Fever coach was also asked to share her opinion on the increased rate of coaching changes in the WNBA over the past couple of seasons, to which she had another blunt response.

"I don't know," White said. "I mean, those are jobs above my pay grade, so I don't really know what to make of it."

White is currently in her first season with the Fever. The 2024 Coach of the Year winner has done an impressive job leading this team to the semifinals despite the numerous injuries they have had to deal with this season.

It can be argued that, all things considered, the Fever have already overachieved this season. This could mean that White’s position as the team’s head coach is reasonably safe at this point, even if Indiana gets bounced in the semis.

Then again, you just never know.