Fever fan conduct dispute pits management’s account against players
Indiana general manager Amber Cox says criticism of the team’s supporters is unfounded, while Brianna Turner and Kelsey Mitchell describe concerns about fan interactions.
Indiana Fever general manager Amber Cox has rejected criticism of the team’s supporters, saying it has “no basis in reality” at the club’s end-of-season news conferences. She also said fans who cross conduct rules in arenas or online should be held accountable.
Cox said no fan had been identified by a player as breaching the WNBA code of conduct during the season, and no fan had been removed from a game. She said cheering, booing and pointing could fall within the rules.
Former Fever player Brianna Turner, now with the Las Vegas Aces, called Cox’s statement “unequivocally false” and said players inside and outside the organisation had repeatedly complained about fan interactions. Turner said her criticism did not apply to all Indiana fans.
Kelsey Mitchell said in her exit interview that interactions with some fans, including online abuse, could make playing in Indiana difficult. Mitchell, drafted by the Fever in 2018, is a free agent this off-season.
The disagreement follows a Game 2 incident in Indiana’s first-round series against Las Vegas. A’ja Wilson and a fan behind the baseline shouted and pointed at each other. Arena staff briefly took the fan backstage; he returned after officials determined the code of conduct had not been breached.
