Indiana Fever staff abruptly ended a postgame press conference on Friday night, shutting down a reporter who attempted to ask players about recent remarks made by teammate Sophie Cunningham concerning transgender athletes in women's sports. The incident occurred after the Fever's 112-98 victory over the Portland Fire.
During the press conference in Portland, Ore., after a question about how the team handles external attention, player Aliyah Boston stated, "We know that there is always going to be attention with the Fever and for us it’s about coming in and winning games. It’s about showing up and doing what we can to continue to take steps forward in this league, and I think there is always going to be outside noise." She added that players have "been professionals long enough to know that if you let that affect you then you're not really here for the right things, so for us we just keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s hoop."
Following Boston's response, a reporter representing OutKick sought to ask Boston and Makayla Timpson about Cunningham's stance on the debate surrounding transgender athletes in women's sports. A Fever representative immediately intervened, stating, "We’re going to wrap up here." Boston then concluded the press conference.
The Indiana Fever's official YouTube upload of the press conference omitted the exchange between the reporter and the public relations staff, concluding instead with Boston's remarks. The team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This situation also saw Caitlin Clark being made unavailable to reporters, despite achieving her fourth career triple-double in the game. This marked the second consecutive game in which Clark was not made available to the media. The game was the second in a row where a rally was held outside the arena in support of Cunningham's views on trans athletes in women's sports.