Fever coach Stephanie White to miss game for personal reasons for 2nd time this season
Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White, right, talks with referee Jenna Reneau in the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White will miss Thursday night’s game against Golden State for personal reasons, team officials announced.
Austin Kelly will fill in as acting head coach as the Fever and star Caitlin Clark visit Chase Center and the expansion Valkyries for the first time.
It’s the second time this season White has been away for personal reasons. She also missed Indiana’s June 7 game at Chicago. Fever officials did not say whether White was dealing with the same issue.
The absence comes two days after White criticized the referees following Indiana’s victory over Connecticut. That game was marred by two shoving matches, with the first involving Clark.
“Everybody’s getting better — except the officials,” White said, noting she first started complaining in the first quarter when she sensed a confrontation was brewing. “So we got to find a way to remedy it. I mean, you’ve heard every coach talk about it, so I don’t know what the answer is.”
White was not fined for those comments, though she did draw a fine earlier this year for previous comments criticizing referees.
Three players were ejected from Tuesday’s game and while nobody was suspended by the league, the Sun’s Marina Mabry had a Flagrant-1 foul upgraded to a Flagrant-2 for shoving Clark, and Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was fined for a hard foul in the game’s final minute.
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