Indiana Fever Ban Reporter After Caitlin Clark Injury Report Sparks Questions About Team Transparency

Let's talk about what's going on with the Fever and banning this reporter, Scott Agnes. I saw this story yesterday and I was like, it's happening. Everything I said that was going to happen is happening with Caitlin Clark and the Fever. And if you guys have been long time listeners of the radio show going back to the radio days, you guys remember when Caitlin Clark was drafted by the Fever? Here's what I said. I said niche sports phenomenons in niche sports have a shelf life of 3 to 5 years. And when I'm talking about niche sports, I consider there are three main sports in American society: baseball, basketball, football. It's been that way for generations. It's going to stay that way for generations. Those are the sports that are consumed the most by mainstream society. Obviously now the NFL is king. For generations it was Major League Baseball. Now it's not even close. It's the NFL.

Caitlin Clark’s Impact on Women’s Basketball Mirrors Other Transformational Sports Figures

But those three sports are consumed and will continue to be successful no matter who is playing them to various degrees. Obviously, when you've got superstars in these games, they're more viewed, they're more talked about, etc. But those leagues will continue to thrive and survive and move forward in perpetuity. Anything else? Niche sport, hockey, soccer, golf, boxing, you name it. It's a niche sport. And I put women's basketball in that even though it's basketball. It's women's basketball. There just isn't. And look, I'm putting my own favorite sport in here as golf. I'm being very fair about this. I'm a golf guy. Golf is a niche sport. And if you look at the history of these sports, every so often these niche sports get an individual who transcends the sport and the public as a collective is like, this is fascinating. I'm going to watch this. Hockey, it was Wayne Gretzky. Boxing, it was Mike Tyson. Golf, it was Tiger Woods. Soccer for a period was Pele. There are certain individuals who are so interesting, who are so good, who are so must see that people from outside of the niche sport start consuming the sport in mass. And if you look at the history of these people, whether it's Gretzky or whether it's Tyson or whether it's Tiger, there's about a five year shelf life when these people who succeed are able to elevate the sport. And then what happens is people have seen the person, they're not into the sport, they're into the person. And once you've seen the thing, if you're not into the sport, then you've seen the thing. Wayne Gretzky came to America in 1988 to the Los Angeles Kings. There was the fever of hockey that lasted through about 1993, 1994. In 1993, the Los Angeles Kings went to the Stanley Cup Finals, and the Mighty Ducks movie came out. And then it was sort of the decline of hockey, right? Gretzky was getting older. People had seen Gretzky. He wasn't the player he once was. You'd seen the routine in America, and now hockey's back to being a niche sport. Tons of people who love hockey who are into hockey. It's not an indictment of those people, but hockey is now back to being its sport. Look at boxing from, what, like 86 to 91. Every Mike Tyson fight made a gajillion dollars and other boxing got elevated because people got into buying pay per view to watch boxing. Tyson was must see TV. You knew you were only going to get about 90s of entertainment, but Mike Tyson was going to pummel some dude into the dust. And from like 86 to 91, there was an explosion of pay per view boxing and revenue for boxing and everybody went to boxing. What happened? Tyson went to prison. Boxing never recovered from Tyson going to prison. Now, when Tyson got out of prison, his fights were still wildly popular for a while, but the mainstream had kind of moved on. Boxing as a collective the mainstream wasn't into, and now look at boxing. It got replaced by UFC, and then UFC has kind of become boxing. Now UFC is struggling. UFC had a period. Conor McGregor was another one of those guys I think maybe you could lump into that where they sort of elevated the sport for a while.

History Shows Star Athletes Can Elevate Niche Sports for Only a Limited Time

Golf. I'm a golf guy. Nobody knows that would know this better than me. From about 97 through about 2002, golf was must see television because of Tiger Woods. My 86 year old grandma, I remember this. I remember her stopping going, is Tiger playing this week? Remember being over at her house? Tiger playing this week? No. Okay. All right. We'll watch it next week then. Tiger Woods for about five years. Now, Tiger's actual greatness and dominance spanned about 10 or 11 years. But in terms of the peak interest of golf, there was five years where Tiger, every week anything Tiger was in had colossal TV ratings. And then people had seen it and they were like, okay, we're not golf people. And especially in things Tiger wasn't in, golf ratings would plummet. That's how niche sport works in our society. It's not an indictment of the sport. It's not an indictment of the athlete that's carrying the sport. It's just the way we work. We consume three mainstream sports and everything else. Occasionally there's people that come along where the mainstream, the public is like, I gotta see that, and then they move on. It's the history of the sport, the best ever do. It couldn't crack that code. And so when Caitlin Clark got drafted and I was like, oh, women's basketball. It's on the map, baby. Women's basketball is in a new frontier. I said whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Women's basketball is going to have a period of explosion depending on how well Caitlin Clark does. If Caitlin Clark is successful in the mold of a Gretzky or a Tiger or a Tyson, it'll be five years. History is great. What's the old saying? There's nothing new under the sun. History is great at predicting behavior and patterns. I said if Caitlin Clark is successful, it'll be a five year window. If Caitlin Clark struggles either on the court or via injury, you've probably got three years because people will move on. People aren't actually into women's basketball. People are into Caitlin Clark and Caitlin Clark as Gretzky, as Tiger, as Tyson did before her is lifting everyone else. And look, you have seen an explosion in ticket sales. You've seen an explosion in television. You've seen an explosion in the valuations of franchises and the sales of franchises. That's all occurring. And it's all because of Caitlin Clark. There's no doubt about any of it. People didn't just wake up one day and go, oh, I'm suddenly into women's basketball the same way as in 1997. People didn't suddenly wake up and go, oh, I'm really into golf. Oh, there was a person that they came to see. And then, like with golf, they saw guys like Phil Mickelson or Greg Norman or whoever, and they were like, oh, these guys are really good. Oh, John Daly's fun. Okay, this is different. This is fun. Boxing, Sugar Ray Leonard, all of those guys, right? Hockey, Mark Messier, etc. There's tons of talented athletes in these sports that if you come for one, you see there's, oh, this is fun. Women's basketball is going through that surge right now. But just like the other sports, it won't be sustainable because people aren't actually into the sport. They're into one person. And the league as a collective and the Fever have totally botched Caitlin Clark. The league and the Fever allow jealousy of the players to stymie the marketing and the growth of Caitlin Clark. Look at the way she's been treated. She is the golden goose and they have treated her like some also ran scrub. Everyone who's there is there because of her. It's the house that Ruth built for the New York Yankees. She is that player. Or at least she came out as that player. Now, Caitlin Clark. And remember I said there's really two options if you look at history, because there have been other sports that have had huge names, these niche sports and the person didn't pan out. And there was a much shorter window which people were into the sport. And Caitlin Clark, it doesn't mean she isn't a good player, but she isn't on the court a lot. She's been very injured, partially because the league has failed to protect her. You know, when people bitch about like quarterback rules in the NFL, like the roughing the passer, you know why those rules exist? Because the quarterback is the most important position. Look at the Chiefs. Without Patrick Mahomes, seven people will be there. One of them is Taylor Swift. The Chiefs are just another franchise without Patrick Mahomes. Look at the Chicago, my beloved Chicago Bears. Last year, Caleb Williams was one of the five most entertaining players in the league. He was making plays, especially in the playoffs where people were like, what the hell was that? The Bears are traditionally one of the most boring franchises in the league. Caleb Williams, quarterback for the Bears, has given life to a position in a franchise that had none. Of course they're going to protect that.

WNBA and Indiana Fever Face Growing Pressure to Protect Caitlin Clark’s Health

The WNBA, though, because of the jealousy of the players, and don't underscore the fact that Caitlin Clark is white and what that has played into it, have treated her like garbage and she has been routinely injured. She missed and she missed what, most of last year. Right. And what happened? The interest began to wane. And so that brings us to this story about this reporter getting banned by the Fever. His name is Scott Agnes. And if you guys are at all familiar with Indianapolis media, Scott Agnes has been covering the Fever and the Pacers as mostly as an independent journalist for a long time. Like he works on his own, he has a website. It's called Fieldhouse Files, and anybody that's followed media knows the name Scott Agnes. And by the way, Scott Agnes is one of these guys that has covered the Fever and the Pacers through thick and thin. I mean, look, not all that long ago there were a thousand people or 2000 people at the Fever Games. And Scott Agnes was there covering the team. It wasn't that long ago after the Malice in the Palace. Ain't nobody going to Pacer games. Scott Agnes was there covering the Pacers. He is truly a believer in the team. He's a believer in the franchise. I think you know as Corey, even though he's, you know, an independent journalist, he's a fan. He wants those teams to do well. And Scott Agnes came out yesterday and announced that the Fever have banned him from covering the team because of his reporting on the injuries of Caitlin Clark. Not Scott Agnes was caught in an alley, not Scott Agnes has a photo up in the post, a wanted photo up in the post office, not Scott Agnes has committed a crime against humanity. None of that. He's been banned from covering the Fever because he reported on Caitlin Clark's injuries. Here's what he wrote. Indiana Fever Public Relations informed me via email. And by the way, you guys can read this at Fieldhouse Files if you want. Inform me via email that my credentialed access to all team events had been revoked. They said it was due to, quote, the spread of inaccurate and unsubstantiated information, and cited my tweet about Caitlin Clark being ruled out 100 minutes before they defeated the Portland Fire on May 20th. They banned him over something 12 days ago. May the 20th was 12 days ago, guys, or 13 days ago now. They're not mad that he got it wrong about her injury issue because he said she wasn't going to play. She didn't. It's not like they could say, oh, you killed us on ticket sales. It was 100 minutes before the game. Everybody bought their tickets and she didn't play. He got it right. They're mad about why he said she wasn't going to play. Get this. Here's what Agnes wrote. Fever PR briefly spoke with me before the game to ask about the tweet, and said that they believed it was false. However, there was no meeting or further conversation before the decision to revoke my credentialed access was communicated to me. So according to Agnes, he puts this tweet out and we'll talk about what he said here in a minute. They have a conversation with him about it. 12, 13 days ago. And then everyone goes on their merry way. Nothing more said to him. Not here's what you did wrong. Now don't do that again. Media people get crap wrong all the time, and it looks like he was right. But even if he was wrong, media people get stuff wrong all the time. They don't get banned from covering the team. In his tweet that the Fever upset about Agnes referenced that Caitlin Clark was being held out due to, quote, part of a strategic management plan for Clark, who missed all but 13 games last season due to several injuries. That was not to insinuate load management, but rather emphasize the precautionary measure given what she experienced last season. Agnes went on to say it was based on information from a trusted league source. The story provided additional details and was updated before tip off to include head coach Stephanie White's pregame comments. So basically he said, look, they are being super cautious with her. Strategic management plan is the phrase that got him in trouble, and we'll talk about that in a second. But he's basically saying, look, this woman is the golden goose. She didn't play most of last season. Anything that remotely could be construed as an injury where they're holding her out. I got this from great sources. I'm standing by them and she didn't play. We keep coming back to she didn't play in the game. Agnes then wrote. The Fever took specific issue with the phrase strategic management plan. That's their right. However, it is consistent with what the team has been publicly emphasizing since last season, keeping the big picture in mind and taking a cautious approach. Here's why the Fever. Now let me tell you what he won't. Here's why they're freaking out about this. If Caitlin Clark is done, they go back to a thousand people being in the building. If Caitlin Clark is done, they go back to a thousand people being in the building. And now you have a major issue because a bunch of people have paid exorbitant prices for franchises. Now, based on the explosion of TV deals, people are going to games, all of that stuff. And it's because of Caitlin Clark. If Caitlin Clark, if the public perceives Caitlin Clark is not going to start playing on the regular, they're going to tune out not just for the Fever, but for the whole league. When Gretzky came to America, because people forget Gretzky was the most famous best hockey player in the world for the Edmonton Oilers in 1988, Bruce McNall, who was the owner of the Los Angeles Kings, gave up a no pun intended king's ransom to get Wayne Gretzky to come to Los Angeles. And there's a lot of people that believe the league wanted that trade to Los Angeles because of what it meant to the league. Look at the explosion that occurred of hockey in North America after Wayne Gretzky went to the Los Angeles Kings. Why did they want him there? Because it was Los Angeles. They didn't want him going to any city in America. They wanted him to go to Los Angeles because of the media attention and what it meant everywhere else that he then went in America. Wayne Gretzky had played in America a whole bunch before that. Edmonton Oilers were in the NHL. They played in America. The explosion of hockey occurred when Wayne Gretzky went to the Los Angeles Kings. It was marketing brilliance, not just for the Los Angeles Kings, but for the league. If the patrons, if the payers, if the ticket buyers or the people at home believe she ain't going to play on the regular, and there's some plan to keep her out a whole bunch because she's not. Because she's still injured to some capacity. They're going to start tuning out. The Fever hit the panic button because they don't want it getting out that she might not play from one game to the next. They want it to be, if she doesn't play, a last minute decision, a last minute decision. Now it doesn't mean they're doing anything wrong. Being cautious with the player. You should. You should put people's health first. But she ain't just a player. She's the whole league. And they know, just like I've said for years with the niche sport thing, there's a 3 to 5 year window. She's on year three. You saw the meltdown with the coach the other day. She's coming off now like a total diva, and the media is starting to catch on to it. And by the way, the media is starting to report on it now. Why? Because she's not the new bright, shiny object. We're in year three. We've seen the Caitlin Clark routine. We don't have to smooch somebody's butt cheeks anymore because it's not new. It's important, but it's not new. Agnes then goes on to write, after his reporting, the next day, the Fever received a warning from the WNBA regarding their injury reporting procedures, according to a league source. And for the three games since Clark has been listed on the injury report back probable. And he got banned for that. She didn't play in the game, and what the Fever did was shady enough that according to Agnes and league sources. And look at how the Fever have changed the behavior. They report it differently. Doesn't seem like Agnes got anything wrong. To me, it sounds like Agnes had the audacity to say the thing. Sound familiar? Doesn't sound like somebody's got something wrong. Mid-States Corridor, Kleinhelter. He didn't get fired. Well good point, Jason. He didn't get fired because he can't fire a guy who works for himself. Sound familiar? He didn't get it wrong. He just had the audacity to say the stuff. Now, look, the WNBA is in a real bind here because Caitlin Clark is often injured. And no matter what the injury report says, people know that. And there's a good chance she may become injured again this year to where she can't play.

Scott Agnes Ban Raises Concerns About Media Access and Independent Reporting

And look, Agnes went through the same thing with the Pacers a couple of years ago because he's truly tried to be an independent journalist. This story really hits close to home to me, guys. It's the same way like I want the Republican Party to succeed on Republican Party principles. I want to be a fan of the Republican Party. It doesn't mean I'm not going to report on the Republican Party when they do bad stuff. Scott Agnes strikes me as a guy who is a huge fan of the Pacers and the Fever, and he wants them to do well. He wants them to win. He wants to report on a winner. He's been at this for 20 years, but it doesn't mean he's not going to report stuff when it comes to him. That's his job. So Agnes went through this with the Pacers reporting about stuff on the Pacers. Now he's going through it with the Fever. And here's what he said. What I can say is this is the latest action. This latest action follows a pattern that has made it increasingly difficult for an independent journalist to provide the type of on the ground coverage that readers deserve. That's right. So many of these teams, these corporations, they're looking for cheerleaders, not journalists. They care about the big guys and not the little guys. When the reality is, the little guys oftentimes have a bigger fan base or a better fan base than the big guys now. I bet more people go to read about the Pacers or the Fever to read Scott Agnes than maybe any other reporter in the city, no matter what media outlet they work for. And the Fever, the Pacers, they don't like that because they can't control him. Colleagues in the media have been urging me to go public about these issues with the Pacers from the beginning. I held off because I hoped they could be resolved privately and until May 20th. I had a good relationship with the Fever. Given recent events, I believe readers deserve the full context. This is my livelihood. I remain committed to covering the Fever, the Pacers and professional basketball in Indiana with the same standards I always have. However, without credentialed access, some aspects of coverage including player interviews, community events, and on location, other on location reporting will be more limited due to these team imposed restrictions. This sucks, man.