But instead of addressing why players like Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark keep taking hits from activists and mainstream outlets, Tibbetts rushed to the defense of Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White.Nate Tibbetts, head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, looks on during a WNBA game between the Phoenix Mercury and the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Aug.7, 2026.
(NurPhoto via Getty Images)"It really pisses me off.It's disappointing," Tibbetts said regarding the narrative around the league."This is a great league.
We've got great players.There's great stories, great rookies, great teams.
We just spend so much time talking about the wrong stuff.I don't know why that happens in our league.
It's disappointing.I don't know who can help change the narrative.
Is it the coaches? Is it the players? Is it the media? There's outside sources that are trying to create division, and at times it's not a lot of fun."TEXAS LAWMAKER SAYS WNBA RESPONSE ON CAITLIN CLARK ‘FALLS SHORT,’ KEEPS ‘EVERY OPTION ON THE TABLE’Tibbetts singled out the backlash directed at White after her limp reaction to a hard foul on Cunningham."We make it about basketball, but some of the things that Steph has to go through, that's wrong," Tibbetts added."There's no other coach in any professional sport that has to go through the stuff that she does, and I think of her a lot.It's not fair.
It's not fair.She's hired to coach basketball.
They got a great team and they're just dealing with stuff that doesn't really matter.So that still pisses me off."Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White speaks during a pregame press conference before a WNBA game between the Dallas Wings and the Indiana Fever on Aug.
14, 2026, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)White has been criticized for being too passive in protecting her players, notably after DiJonai Carrington slammed Sophie Cunningham across the neck.Cunningham was already ...