Caitlin Clark explains Indiana Fever injury report confusion: ‘At the end of the day, it’s me and my confidence’
Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect The Indiana Fever had a controversy on their hands on Wednesday when they announced superstar Caitlin Clark was inactive due to a back injury. The issue was that, a day earlier, they’d released their injury report, and Clark wasn’t on it. The abrupt change without any warning raised alarm bells for many in the WNBA media and kicked off a debate about the Fever’s handling of injuries and whether the WNBA needs to institute stricter rules on reporting.
Indiana coach Stephanie White tried to allay concerns in a statement to Front Office Sports , saying it’s common for players to have a “pro day” and not participate in practice while not being listed on the injury report, adding that the Fever insisted Clark “was on the court at one point” on Tuesday. As for why she was a late scratch, White said Clark “woke up with some stiffness and soreness. ” She denied that the move was part of a pre-arranged load-management plan, as had been suggested by one reporter.
Friday, Clark spoke with the media for the first time since the scratch and offered an explanation of her own. Caitlin Clark on who or what went into the final call for her not to play Wednesday: “At the end of the day, it’s me and my confidence. ” Her full comments on what happened leading to her missing a game with a back injury, via @TonyREast : pic.
twitter. com/2I29b7F4l4 — Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) May 22, 2026 “So I woke up Tuesday, I was here, I got treatment as I’ve done many practices before, as many of my teammates have done,” said Clark. “Had every intention of playing, didn’t indicate I wasn’t gonna play.
Approached Wednesday, that was the day of our game, as I was 100% playing. Woke up Tuesday, felt a little sore, texted our training staff, texted my personal physio. ” Clark then cheekily broke down everything she had for breakfast that morning to be extra specific, before returning to her rundown of the day.