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Stephanie White Calls Out Referees After Indiana Fever's Loss to New York Liberty

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Ettinger | Last updated May 24, 2025 9:43 PM ET

With the spotlight shining brightly on the Indiana Fever and their superstar, Caitlin Clark, the first week of the 2025 WNBA season hasn't gone according to plan. Despite playing three of their first four games at home, the Fever find themselves with a 2-2 record (1-2 at home).

The Fever's latest loss came at the hands of the defending champion, New York Liberty on Saturday, 90-88. While Clark finished with 18 points and 10 assists, posting her third double-double of the season, it didn't come without a struggle.

Clark finished 2-for-11 from 3-point range, adding 10 turnovers to her stat sheet (matching her career high). On Clark's final 3-point attempt of the game, it appeared she had been fouled, however, whistles were not blown.

Fever head coach, Stephanie White, took the opportunity during her postgame press conference to not only point at this play but also call out the referees for their "disrespectful" officiating.

steph white:

“i think it’s pretty egregious, what’s been happening to us the last few games. -31 free throw discrepancy. i might be able to understand it if we’re just chucking threes—the disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable.” pic.twitter.com/B7pNMaTZUc
— cc akgae (@clrkszn) May 24, 2025

"I think it's pretty egregious what's been happening to us the last few games, a -31 free discrepancy. I might be able to understand it if we were just chucking 3s, but we're not, we're attacking the rim. The disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable," White said.

In Saturday's loss to the Liberty, the Fever were outshot from the free-throw line 32 to 15.

While this season hasn't started how Clark and the Fever had hoped, their two loss are by a combined three points. And the bright spot of Saturday's loss was Aliyah Boston playing her best game of the season. Boston dropped 27 points on 12-for-19 shooting from the field to go along with 13 rebounds, two assists, and one block.

The Fever will have a few days to rest and prepare for their next game. They'll take on the Washington Mystics on the road on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. EDT on NBA TV.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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