Dave Portnoy stated Indiana Fever followers “deserve better” after the franchise and the WNBA “made something outta nothing” with the league’s investigation into allegations of racism in the course of the Fever-Sky sport on Might 17.
The Barstool Sports activities founder, who attended that sport, known as the investigation “bulls–t” whereas reacting to an announcement from the WNBA on Tuesday, which revealed the league discovered no proof to substantiate claims of racist remarks from followers.
“It’s okay to have a spine @IndianaFever,” Portnoy, who’s a diehard Clark fan, wrote on X, together with an announcement from the Fever that responded to the conclusion of the evaluate. “The ‘investigation’ was bulls–t. Both you and @WNBA gave credibly [sic] to a very obvious troll. @espn ran with it. @CaitlinClark22 had to defend her fans for no reason. You made something outta nothing. @IndianaFever fans deserve better.”
Portnoy was referring to ESPN’s reporting on the scenario.
On Tuesday, ESPN persona Chiney Ogwumike mentioned the WNBA’s assertion and publicly apologized for her preliminary response to the scenario, which she stated was within the warmth of the second and after she spoke with folks near the scenario.
“I am sorry that my message was in the heat of the moment, cause when I initially spoke on the topic, it really came from a place of care,” Ogwumike stated on a video on social media. “It was based on first-hand conversations with people very close to the situation who raised real concerns, and they told me what they had experienced, and I felt like it was important and it was necessary to acknowledge those allegations and also voice those experiences.”
In her preliminary response, Ogwumike stated on her podcast that “players and coaches of the Chicago Sky have said that they heard things that were out of bounds coming from the fans in Indiana during the game, and that caused the WNBA to launch an investigation into the matter.”
Sky coach Tyler Marsh stated he grew to become conscious that alleged hate speech occurred on the sport “when everyone else did,” including that it’s “something we heard about.”
Through the Fever’s house opener towards the Sky, Indiana guard Caitlin Clark was issued a flagrant foul towards Chicago ahead Angel Reese within the third quarter.
After the foul, Clark walked away and Reese was held again by teammates as she tried to method her.
Allegations later emerged that racist feedback from followers had been geared toward Reese in the course of the Fever’s 93-58 win.
The scenario solely fueled the Clark-Reese rivalry that began throughout their faculty days when Reese and LSU defeated Clark and the Hawkeyes within the 2023 NCAA title sport.
Nevertheless, the WNBA couldn’t substantiate the allegations following a week-long investigation.
“We have investigated the report of racist fan behavior in the vicinity of the court during the May 17, 2025 Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever game,” the WNBA’s assertion learn. “Based on information gathered to date, including from relevant fans, team and arena staff, as well as audio and video review of the game, we have not substantiated it. The WNBA is committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for everyone and will continue to be vigilant in enforcing our fan code of conduct.”
The Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky issued their very own assertion in response to the WNBA’s findings in an announcement of their very own.
