Fever drops reporter’s access after Clark back status

Fever revokes – Indiana Fever revoked reporter Scott Agness’s credentialed access to team events after he reported on Caitlin Clark’s status ahead of the May 20 game against the Portland Fire. Agness said he stands by his reporting and updated it as new information emerged, w

The morning before Caitlin Clark’s May 20 game against the Portland Fire, she didn’t show up on any injury reports.

Then, about 100 minutes before tip-off, the Indiana Fever ruled her out of the nationally televised matchup, citing a lingering “back” issue.

Scott Agness, a reporter who has covered the Fever since 2013, had already been tracking Clark’s playing status. In a later account, he said the team moved to shut down his access after he posted what he described as a context-driven update for that nationally televised game.

In his “Fieldhouse Files” update on Tuesday, Agness said the Fever revoked his credentialed access to all team events. He said the change will limit what he can cover going forward, including player interviews and on-location reporting.

The dispute centered on the way Clark’s back status was explained online the day before the game. Agness had tweeted that the reason Clark wouldn’t play was “part of a strategic management plan for the season.” The Fever’s PR team responded that it was “the spread of inaccurate and unsubstantiated information.”.

Agness said he stands by his initial reporting and the intent behind it. He said he had updated his story with additional information about the May 20 game and comments from Fever head coach Stephanie White, as well as comments from Clark about her back issue.

His account framed the reporting as something closer to balancing business and medicine than guessing.

“A team and player balancing short-term availability with long-term health,” Agness wrote as the reporting he was trying to capture.

In Tuesday’s update, he also addressed the limits placed on him by credentialed access. He said he doesn’t have an issue with people disagreeing with the wording or interpretation. He called it “part of the relationship between teams and the media.”

“What should not be in dispute is that the reporting was sourced, that it was updated as new information became available, and that readers were given the full context available at the time,” Agness wrote.

Agness also reported that his access became more limited ahead of the 2023-24 season. He said he plans to continue covering both the Indiana Fever and the Indiana Pacers for “Fieldhouse Files” on Substack despite “some limits imposed by the ‘team-imposed restrictions’ on him.”

He added that. for the Pacers. he addressed what he said was an untrue claim: that he parked in the media lot for an event “without the appropriate passes or clearance.” He said he wasn’t sure whether his relationship with the Pacers may also have impacted the Fever’s recent revocation of his credentials.

Clark’s situation this season has been closely watched because of what happened last year. During the previous season, she dealt with an injury that limited her to 13 games for the Fever and kept her out of the team’s entire postseason run.

This year, optimism built after she participated in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament and won the TISSOT Most Valuable Player award. She returned to the lineup appearing healthy and ready, and she has played in seven of the Fever’s eight games so far.

Through those games, she is averaging 20.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. In the WNBA, Clark ranks fifth in scoring and first in assists. The Fever are 4-4 in the early part of the season and hope to contend again as the postseason approaches.

Indiana Fever Caitlin Clark Scott Agness Fieldhouse Files WNBA credentials revoked Stephanie White Portland Fire back issue media access