It’s a lethal whirlwind going on in the league regarding the Fever Nation backlash. Since Caitlin Clark’s unfortunate black-eye moment courtesy of the Connecticut Sun’s DiJonai Carrington, things have taken a rather nasty turn. Facing the response from so-called CC fans to this on-court incident, Carrington has been facing something similar to what the Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese was earlier, i.e. death threats, being followed, and being called names.

Addressing the matter, Carrington’s partner and Indiana Fever Forward NaLyssa Smith has called out the misdeeds on social media. Responding to a fan dissing Smith’s caring gesture of sending flowers to cheer Carrington, she wrote, “anyways now that I can respond freely, my girlfriend has been getting death threats, followed, called all type of sh–.So, if sending her flowers to make sure her mental health is okay then coo cry about it.” On the other hand, Alyssa Thomas too has broken her silence on the matter and said her part.

“Honestly, it’s been a lot of nonsense. I think in my 11-year career, I’ve never experienced the raci-l comments from the Indiana Fever fan base. We had her face on a serious matter that happened in this world and it’s unacceptable. I’ve never been called the things that I’ve been called on social media and there’s no place for it,” Thomas shared.

Amidst all this, she emphasized how the league is growing in a great direction and said there is no need for such fans who degrade and call out players with raci-l names, as she put it, “It’s uncalled for.” Some so-called Indiana Fever fans had raised concerns about DiJonai Carrington hitting Clark in the eye, which even the rookie admitted was not intentional. Moreover, Carrington’s relationship with her supposed “rival” was also questioned by these people.

Nonetheless, Thomas demanded the Indiana Fever and the league to take action and address these issues that are turning dangerous for the players. Hence, the league has done just that.

The WNBA taking firm measures following DiJonai Carrington’s ordeal

In light of all the chaos and hate being spewed on the Sun, the WNBA has issued a statement that says the league contains some of the most elite athletes in the world. While it welcomes a growing fan base, it was asserted that the league will not tolerate any rac-st, derogatory threatening remarks on any person affiliated with the WNBA. The statement also mentioned that the league to involve law enforcement if needed.

Similarly, Connecticut head coach Stephanie White let it all out and said, “We’ve seen a lot of r-cism, s-xism, homophobia, tr-nsphobia throughout the course of our country. Sport is no exception and it’s unacceptable to be quite honest.”

Feeling responsible in the past for the issue, White expressed how the media lets internet trolls frame a narrative and make their own storyline, which is unacceptable. She also demanded that as media personnel, people should make sure the narrative should remain about what these players do and not about who is being attacked and make it newsworthy.

She applauded the players and teams for maintaining professionalism throughout the season and encouraged them to silence the noise.