Fever’s Stephanie White slams WNBA ‘double standard’ after controversial loss originally appeared on The Sporting News
Stephanie White thought her fourth-quarter was going to be successful. The Indiana Fever coach was certain that a foul call on Aliyah Boston was going to be overturned, wiping out a Li Yueru basket and giving Indiana a chance to complete an improbable comeback against the Dallas Wings on Tuesday.
Advertisement
But White was left stunned when Yueru’s and-one opportunity was upheld, and it was one of the officiating decisions that White argued made the difference as the Caitlin Clark-less Fever were upset by the Wings at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
MORE: Fever star teases Caitlin Clark’s potential return from injury
Speaking to the media following the Fever’s 81-80 loss, White sharply criticized the refereeing crew and spoke out in defense of All-Stars Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell — whom she believes are held to a different standard.
“I think there is a double standard in how people get their calls,” White said. “Kelsey Mitchell, number one, is held or chucked on every freaking possession and never gets a call off the ball. I think Aliyah Boston is the worst-officiated post player in the league, she never gets a call.”
Mitchell too was involved in a debatable refereeing decision in the fourth quarter, when Wings guard Grace Berger impeded her landing space on a 3-point attempt. However, the referees declined to call Berger for a flagrant foul, arguing that Mitchell landed on her feet before Berger did.
Advertisement
“There’s a double standard there, certainly,” White said.
Even still, Indiana found itself trailing by 17 points at home to a Dallas team playing without star guard Arike Ogunbowale. Though the Fever’s late rally fell short, White surely will be asking her players to clean up the giveaways after Dallas scored 27 points off 18 Indiana turnovers.
MORE WNBA NEWS:
