The Indiana Fever have revoked the credential of longtime Indiana Pacers and Fever beat reporter Scott Agness, he shared on his own Fieldhouse Files website.
According to Agness, the Fever notified him via email on May 21 that he would be barred from accessing team events because of a social media report they claim spread “inaccurate and unsubstantiated” information regarding Caitlin Clark’s health status for the season.
Agness formerly worked for The Athletic before launching his substack in 2020. His Pacers credential was revoked in 2024. He claims the decision was made because he parked in the media lot without proper clearance.
The Fever and Pacers both declined to comment to The Athletic.
The report in question came on May 20, when Clark was ruled out 100 minutes before the Fever played the Portland Fire. According to Agness’ post on X, Clark’s unavailability was part of a strategic management plan for the season.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark will NOT play tonight vs Portland Fire. I’m told it’s part of a strategic management plan for the season.
Tonight is the Fever’s fourth game in eight days.
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) May 20, 2026
“After the tweet while I was in the midst of working on my quick story, I got a text from PR that said, ‘Hey, where are you? Can we talk?’” Agness told The Athletic. “I met (Fever media relations) in the hallway and she shows me her phone and said, ‘What is this? This is false.’”
Agness said he listened “patiently” before telling Fever media relations staff that he had a “trusted, reliable source” and stood by his reporting.
Fever coach Stephanie White negated Agness’ report during her pregame press conference on May 20.
“There’s no managing,” White said. “She’s healthy. We’re not managing anything. This is just a back issue that we want to make sure we give the time to be ready.”
Agness said he did not contact the Fever in an attempt to confirm his reporting prior to posting to X.
“Because I knew what they were going to say,” Agness said. “It was a trusted source that I know is spot-on. The other thing is, I felt if anything, this was helping them out.
“If you go inside the quick story, the point of it was there is no new injury; she is healthy. This is part of the bigger plan, the strategic management-type plan. The point in my mind was to emphasize to fans she’s good, no worries. This is just part of the recovery process after everything she’s been through last year.”
Agness said all of his correspondence with the Fever regarding his credential status has been via email.
Clark’s first absence of the 2026 season drew heavy scrutiny after the Fever failed to list her on the team’s injury report despite her missing practice the day before their game against the Fire. The Fever also did not update the injury report at any point Wednesday even though Clark woke up with what White described as “some stiffness and some soreness.” The Fever were later given a warning by the WNBA for violating injury report protocol.
The WNBA did not immediately return a request for comment.
“The (Professional Basketball Writers Association) objects in the strongest possible terms to any reporter losing access for the act of reporting,” the PBWA WNBA chapter board said in a statement shared with The Athletic. “Any effort to prevent reporters from doing the work of informing the public reflects poorly on any team and league which attempts to do so, and runs contrary to the best interests of all involved, most of all the public.”
Agness said he’s had “a few” conversations with PBWA leadership over the last week. His sense from those conversations is that there’s been “no movement” toward reinstatement.
