WNBA writer claims Fever banned him over Caitlin Clark injury coverage

Nypost · Jun 02, 2026 · 352 words · By Michael Blinn

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What to know about WNBA writer claims Fever banned him over Caitlin Clark injury coverage

The coverage of Caitlin Clark’s late roster scratch last month had seemingly more consequences than previously thought.

Claims checked 6

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The coverage of Caitlin Clark’s late roster scratch last month had seemingly more consequences than previously thought.

Why it matters

Reporter Scott Agness, who covers the team for his Fieldhouse Files Substack, said Tuesday his credentials were revoked over his reporting of Clark’s injury status as “part of a strategic management plan.” “They said it was due to ‘the spread of inaccurate…

Common ground

“Fever PR briefly spoke with me before the game to ask about the tweet and state that they believed it was false.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: WNBA writer claims Fever banned him over Caitlin Clark injury coverage?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that the Fever defeated the Portland Fire on May 20?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/02/sports/wnba-writer-claims-fever-banned-him-over-ca…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “the Fever defeated the Portland Fire on May 20”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including a game recap and a stats report, confirm the Indiana Fever defeated the Portland Fire on May 20, 2026, with a score of 90-73.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Indiana Fever season will be the franchise's 27th season in the WNBA and their fourth under head coach, Stephanie White.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Indiana_Fever_season

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Emily Ann Engstler (born May 1, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Fire of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She previously played for the Indiana F…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Engstler

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Fever

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “cited my tweet about Caitlin Clark being ruled out 100 minutes before they defeated the Portland Fire on May 20”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web search results explicitly mention that the team cited a tweet by Agness about Caitlin Clark being ruled out 100 minutes before the game against the Portland Fire on May 20.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) is a law passed by the 119th United States Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on November 19, 2025. It requires the U.S. Attorney General to "make …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epstein_Files_Transparency_Act

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. As of March 2026, there are 53 Republican…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_United_States_…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “Reporter Scott Agness, who covers the team for his Fieldhouse Files Substack, said Tuesday his credentials were revoked over his reporting of Clark’s injury status as “part of a strategic management plan.””

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results from June 2026 confirm that Scott Agness had his credentials revoked by the Indiana Fever following his reporting on Caitlin Clark's injury status.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 Indiana Fever season was the franchise's 26th season in the WNBA and their third season under head coach, Stephanie White, who returned to the franchise where she previously coached the Fever…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Indiana_Fever_season

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kelsey Michelle Mitchell (born November 12, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Hive of Unrivale…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelsey_Mitchell_(basketball)

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “Agness was previously barred from covering the Pacers over an allegation that he parked in the media lot without permission during the 2024 All-Star Game”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim is completely irrelevant, discussing the murder of Laci Peterson and a company called Scott Sports, with no mention of journalist Scott Agness or the Indiana Pacers.

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web search NEUTRAL — Scott graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business in June 1998, [6] and the Petersons opened a sports bar in San Luis Obispo called The Shack. [4][6][8] The Petersons decided …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Laci_Peterson

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Scott Sports SA (formerly Scott USA) is a producer of bicycles, winter equipment, motorsports gear, running shoes and sportswear. The company's main office is in Givisiez, Switzerland, with branches i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Sports

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web search NEUTRAL — SCOTT Sports pushes the limits of innovation, technology and design to develop some of the best bikes, ski, running and motosports equipment.
https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/

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Claim 5: “The Fever received a warning — but no financial penalty — from the WNBA after Clark was a late scratch against the Portland Fire despite not being on the team’s official injury report the previous day.”

CORROBORATED

ESPN and another news source independently report that the WNBA issued a warning (but no fine) to the Fever for Caitlin Clark being a late scratch without being on the previous day's injury report.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Caitlin Clark effect is the increase in popularity of women's basketball attributed to American basketball player Caitlin Clark. During Clark's collegiate career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, she drew u…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caitlin_Clark_effect

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 6: “Fever head coach Stephanie White told reporters after the 90-73 loss. “She’s healthy... This is just a back issue”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While other claims in the set are corroborated, the specific evidence provided for claim 4 consists of general Wikipedia entries about Indiana and Caitlin Clark, but does not contain the specific quote or statement from Stephanie White regarding the 'back issue' after the 90-73 loss.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Caitlin Elizabeth Clark (born January 22, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Regarded as one of the greate…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caitlin_Clark

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.