The Fever Could Face WNBA Inquiry Over Caitlin Clark's 'Injury'

The WNBA is probably going to look into the Indiana Fever's handling of Caitlin Clark's "injury" on Wednesday night, May 20.

Clark, a third-year WNBA guard, was ruled out for Wednesday night's Fever vs. Portland Fire game. The announcement came a few hours before tipoff. Clark, who went No. 1 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, had yet to miss a game this year.

Some have speculated that the Fever are "managing" Clark's workload - something you'll often see in the NBA - while others are wondering if it's a legitimate injury.

Fever head coach Stephanie White's comment is a bit contradictory.

"She's healthy. We're not managing anything. This is just a back issue that we want to make sure we give the time to be ready," she said.

She added that she doesn't anticipate it being a season-long issue: "I'm not a doctor so I don't know."

But if Clark is "healthy," then she would be playing, right?

Is it a legitimate injury or is it a load management issue? This is something that the WNBA is probably going to be looking into.

WNBA expected to look into Clark's 'injury'

Fans aren't sure what to believe.

"What is this? The fourth update on the supposed non-injury that is keeping her out but she's 100% healthy. What is going on with this organization?" one added.

"One minute it's a stiff back, the other minute it's a strategic management plan… it's all not adding up," one added.

"Yet no mention of it yesterday. Do they think everyone is stupid?" one added.

"This messaging has been confusing. "Load management" first and now it's not. It just sounds like BS to me," one fan added.

WNBA analyst Robin Lundberg believes this is something that the league could end up looking into.

"This statement from Stephanie White is contradictory. If there is no injury, then they are managing it," he wrote.

"One would imagine the WNBA is going to look into how the Fever handled Caitlin Clark's injury status."

The Fever are off to a 2-2 start this season. Clark is averaging 24.3 points, 9.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game thus far.

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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 4:18 PM.