Despite not being present on the injury report Tuesday, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark did not play in the team’s game against the Portland Fire on Wednesday. Two hours before the contest, Clark was ruled out due to a back injury.
What happened next could potentially open up the team to punishment from the league.
Clark’s injury was initially reported as “a strategic management plan,” according to Fever beat writer Scott Agness. In other words, the Fever were using load-management strategies to rest Clark after the team played four games in eight days.
But — as the NBA showed — sitting healthy players for load-management reasons is generally frowned upon by the league. If the Fever were only holding out Clark to manage her reps, the WNBA likely wouldn’t be happy about that.
Because of that, Fever coach Stephanie White was forced to go into damage control before and after the game, a 90-73 win by the Fever. Ahead of the contest, White denied the team was using load management to rest, but also downplayed the injury.
“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.”
White later said she did not anticipate the injury to linger and that the team held Clark out just to be safe. White added that she’s not a doctor, shifting the responsibility to the team’s medical staff.
At that time, White also revealed that Clark missed practice Tuesday in order to receive treatment. White said Clark went through workouts after practice.
That particular tidbit became a much bigger deal after the contest. Due to WNBA injury rules, “player injuries” and “participation status” must be reported by 5 p.m. local time the day before a game. Clark was not listed on the team’s injury report Tuesday, adding to the speculation that the Fever were sitting Clark for load-management reasons.
Clark was asked why the team didn’t add Clark to the injury report Tuesday night. The coach said that players who don’t practice aren’t always put on the injury report. White explained that — despite Clark missing practice Tuesday — the team expected Clark to play in Wednesday’s game … that is, until she woke up with a sore back on game day.
White reiterated that Clark’s back was “sore,” but deferred to the training staff in case there was more to Clark’s injury. White was also asked whether she believed the Fever would be fined over their handling of the situation. She said “no.”
The Fever have an off day Thursday before taking on the Golden State Valkyries on Friday. Clark’s playing status will be highly monitored — by fans and by the league — heading into that contest, especially after everything that took place Wednesday.
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