The Indiana Fever had a controversy on their hands on Wednesday when they announced superstar Caitlin Clark was inactive due to a back injury.
The issue was that, a day earlier, they’d released their injury report, and Clark wasn’t on it.
The abrupt change without any warning raised alarm bells for many in the WNBA media and kicked off a debate about the Fever’s handling of injuries and whether the WNBA needs to institute stricter rules on reporting.
Indiana coach Stephanie White tried to allay concerns in a statement to Front Office Sports, saying it’s common for players to have a “pro day” and not participate in practice while not being listed on the injury report, adding that the Fever insisted Clark “was on the court at one point” on Tuesday. As for why she was a late scratch, White said Clark “woke up with some stiffness and soreness.” She denied that the move was part of a pre-arranged load-management plan, as had been suggested by one reporter.
Friday, Clark spoke with the media for the first time since the scratch and offered an explanation of her own.
Caitlin Clark on who or what went into the final call for her not to play Wednesday:
“At the end of the day, it’s me and my confidence.”
Her full comments on what happened leading to her missing a game with a back injury, via @TonyREast:pic.twitter.com/2I29b7F4l4
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) May 22, 2026
“So I woke up Tuesday, I was here, I got treatment as I’ve done many practices before, as many of my teammates have done,” said Clark. “Had every intention of playing, didn’t indicate I wasn’t gonna play. Approached Wednesday, that was the day of our game, as I was 100% playing. Woke up Tuesday, felt a little sore, texted our training staff, texted my personal physio.”
Clark then cheekily broke down everything she had for breakfast that morning to be extra specific, before returning to her rundown of the day.
“Then I had PT at home,” she continued. “Then I came down here about like 1 o’clock and we tried to do everything we can, got on the court, I lifted, went through a hard workout. And I actually went back and looked because of all these narratives that are going crazy online about when I told my mom I was going to play the game. 4:47, you guys found out at 5:20. So one of the most important people in my life found out 40 minutes before you guys.
“So that’s what my last two days leading up to that Wednesday game looked like.”
Clark was then asked what led to the decision not to play in Wednesday’s game.
“I think at the end of the day it’s me and my confidence,” said Clark. “And obviously, I have a great team around me. It’s not only me. Like, I trust our medical staff a lot. I have my own personal people that have really helped me too. And you know, my sports psych, talk to him a lot too.
“Coming back from injury and having three soft tissues or however many soft tissue injuries is a real mental challenge… And these are the best players in the world. And if I don’t feel 100% confident in my body, like, on game 5 of the year, I don’t know if that’s really worth it in that scenario.
“I want to play every single game. I want to play 44 games in a season. I’m doing everything I can to do that. By putting my body in my best position I can to, and I feel really good and really confident in my body, but there’s moments where I still struggle a little bit and I get in my head and things like that, and I’m sore. Like, that’s just reality of it. You can ask any athlete, you can ask any basketball player, women’s basketball players, or any athlete around the country, any professional sport, they’ll tell you the same exact thing.”
The WNBA warned the Fever on Thursday for failing to report Clark’s injury status before the scratch.
Status Update: Caitlin Clark (back) is available for tonight’s game. https://t.co/1lFgLoAZqy
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) May 22, 2026
The 3-2 Fever hosts the 3-1 Golden State Valkries Friday night, and Clark will be in action.
