Fever coach Stephanie White dedicated her entire pre-game media availability to delivering a rant in defense of herself after she faced criticism for her response on Saturday to an incident when Chicago Sky player DiJonai Carrington smacked Cunningham in the face.White initially told reporters Saturday that she didn't believe the hit was intentional, before declaring Tuesday that after watching footage, she believed the hit was "egregious."Cunningham showed support for White after Tuesday's win.FEVER SHUT DOWN SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM QUESTIONS, ABRUPTLY END PRESS CONFERENCEIndiana Fever head coach Stephanie White gives instructions to Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark against the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 18, 2026, in Indianapolis, Ind.(Getty Images)"There's just been a lot of outside noise," Cunningham said.
"But our locker room is good.""Our locker room in there, it's tight, and we have each other's backs," she said."Coach loves us."Cunningham even defended White's first comments about the foul.
White had praised Carrington's competitive nature after the game while agreeing with the officials' decision to eject her.Cunningham said White lacked a full view of the play when she spoke."She didn't see the clip," Cunningham said.
"At the end of the day, she didn't see the clip."SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM SPEAKS OUT AGAINST DIJONAI CARRINGTON AFTER FLAGRANT FOUL AND 'WHITE PRIVILEGE' POSTSophie Cunningham confronts DiJonai Carrington after the latter committed a hard foul that led to her being ejected in the first quarter of Saturday's game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky.(Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images)White said Tuesday of the hit, "I didn't see the play in real time.
I went straight to a press conference.I thought the play got called right.
Thankfully, Sophie's okay.Was it egregious? Absolutely.
When you have a chance to watch that over and over and over on replay, you can see that.I didn't have that in real time."Cunningham noted that Wh...