Fever fans are furious with Stephanie White after Caitlin Clark's press conference

The Indiana Fever lost 81-60 to the Golden State Valkyries Wednesday, a reality that surprised a lot of fans — especially since the game was the first for Caitlin Clark since she injured her groin against the Storm on June 24. And though coach Stephanie White, Clark, and teammate Lexie Hull were all aligned in the reasons why the Fever lost so badly, plenty of fans were ready to blame White for everything.

Sports fans are fickle, and Fever fans are notoriously so. They're also known for being loud and opinionated, quick to support their team when the going is good, but sometimes even quicker to point at one person or factor as the reason why a game didn't go well — and as much as fans are well-intentioned, they aren't necessarily always right.

What Fever fans are saying about Stephanie White

"They got Aari as a back up pg and instead they took Caitlin out of her position and made Lexie her minutes restriction back up," wrote one person in the YouTube comments on Clark and Hull's postgame press conference Wednesday. "This coaching staff starting with Steph is failing miserably. Let CC run the offense and stop this bulls--t offense it’s disgusting to watch."

"SW needs to stop this game plan let CC run the show," another wrote.

"Never seen cc look this down and dejected, white has total done her job and broken cc, congrats white congrats, white talks about ball movement, then takes ball out of cc hands, what the hell is wrong with this coach," a third person added.

Though the comments are likely well-intentioned, and it can be assumed that most fans are operating from a space of support, not everything really... checks out. For example, it's not plausible or desirable for the team's head coach to step back and let a player "run the show." It is, however, plausible that one reason Clark "looks this down and dejected" is that the team lost, and they lost in part due to her own performance.

What Stephanie White and Caitlin Clark said about the game

White was upfront about what held the Fever back this game. "I'm not sure if it's not knowing the game plan... as much as not executing the game plan," she told reporters. "Our attention to detail, our discipline. I felt like our energy and our competitive fire was not there, and that's disappointing."

Clark, who managed 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting, also pointed to the team's performance as the reason for the loss — not the coaching. "We struggled scouting report-wise. We struggled [with] personnel. We struggled to do what the coaches asked of us," she explained.

After it was pointed out that several Fever players have cited struggles with scouting reports and personnel as reasons for losses this season, Clark acknowledged the team has played inconsistently all season. "And that's on us," she added. "We do that, and we have to be better than that."

Clark vowed the team will "find a way to fix it," something the team has "shown glimpses of" in games that have gone well.