“My Therapist Helps”: Fever HC Stephanie White Opens Up Around Being a ‘Subject of Ugliness From the Internet’

Expectations are certainly high for the Indiana Fever this season, as they aim for the first WNBA title since 2012. However, as they lost the first game of the playoffs 85-102 to the Las Vegas Aces, the Fever players and coach bore the brunt of criticism as Indiana could be looking at an early exit despite an exceptional regular season. Coach Stephanie White opened up about handling the online trolls and exchanges headed her way after the loss, in a clip posted by ESPN’s Kareem Copeland.

“It’s tough. Certainly, my therapist helps. My family helps. I have the luxury of being able to sort of minimize what gets in. But at the end of the day, nobody likes to be a subject of ugliness from the internet,” said White during the post-game press conference.

“And oftentimes what happens on the internet then becomes articles in the news now. And we didn’t used to have that. It stayed on the internet. It stayed on social media. So now it becomes news. And I think I try to lead by example and setting aside time and being intentional about talking about using our resources.”

This is not the first time that Stephanie White has spoken about the online hate, trolls, or inappropriate messages that the players and coaches receive in the WNBA. In fact, for White, the mental health and well-being of the players transcend team boundaries, as evidenced by her defense of opposing team players’ time and again during the season.

“I think for the league as a whole, there’s been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia — straight-up hateful nonsense, and it is absolutely unacceptable,” White said back in June

Her comments came after the infamous Caitlin Clark-Alyssa Thomas flagrant foul incident. Thomas was the subject of online hateful and racially motivated messages after this in-game incident with Clark.

“Most of it is coming from the online community. In my heart of hearts, I believe most of it is not coming from WNBA fans (or) Indiana Fever fans,” she added.

This latest round of criticism against White and Co. comes after the Fever’s loss against the Aces, a game in which Indiana started the game fairly well but struggled with their shooting later on in the game.

The Fever could only convert 45% of their shots from the field, as compared to the Aces’ 59%. While Caitlin Clark recorded her first WNBA playoffs double-double, scoring 15 points and 10 assists, it was not enough as the Aces closed the game in a 102-85 win.

A’ja Wilson led the charge for the Aces, scoring a game-high of 38 points to go with 16 rebounds, and Jackie Young added another 21 points. Chelsea Gray contributed 14 points and eight assists to the win.

The Fever will get another chance to stay alive in this playoff series. If they don’t win their next game, the Aces will move to the semifinals, ending Stephanie White’s hopes for a deep playoff run this season.

The post “My Therapist Helps”: Fever HC Stephanie White Opens Up Around Being a ‘Subject of Ugliness From the Internet’ appeared first on EssentiallySports.