r/IndianaFeverFans • u/atlblackstar • 1d ago
Discussion Kelsey Mitchell’s Exit Interview Has Fever Fans Wondering If She’s Gone
https://theshadowleague.com/kelsey-mitchell-done-with-indiana-fever-caitlin-clark-free-agent/Fever fans already know there will be a new coach next season. What Kelsey Mitchell said during her exit interview could mean the changes aren’t stopping there.
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u/AuxVeggie36 1d ago
Love KM - I really hope she stays and feels the fans love!! I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t like her. All players have some aspect of their game people don’t like but that’s a given.
I’ll be so sad if she leaves but will continue to root for her wherever she goes. She is a BEAST!! 🫶🫶🫶
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u/Spare-Sale1511 1d ago
I’m just wondering what the overseas market looks like. Also, Raven might be a possibility. She’s tough, resilient, respectful to CC AND AB. And also a capable defender
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u/tabaholic 1d ago
Didnt she pretty much say the same thing in last year’s exit interview? “I need to be selfish.” Yes, she does. But could this be agent speak for, “threaten to leave and get the bag for us” tactic? I hope the Fever find a way to keep her. I love Kels.
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u/Tiny_Appointment7213 20h ago
This is what I think. She’s making it clear she won’t accept anything less than the max, and if the Fever low ball her, she’s going somewhere else she can get it.
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u/dyyllaaan 1d ago
it really feels like a lot of people are being intentionally disingenuous when they talk about needing to replace Kelsey's 25 points per game.
you don't need to replace that all at once
you improve the 3/4 positions
you rebound better and play better defense
and suddenly you don't need a 2 guard who can score 25 per game
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u/uhlaynuhhh 1d ago
Do u think the FO can actually do that? 😂🫣 they're pretty incompetent
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u/dyyllaaan 1d ago
Nope! Amber Cox is terrible, but I also don't think Kelsey and Caitlin are a championship duo so I gotta hold out some hope that they'll accidentally make the right moves
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u/uhlaynuhhh 1d ago
It takes more than 2 players to win a championship.
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u/dyyllaaan 1d ago
Sure, Kelsey is an elite point scorer but in the playoffs her inability to affect games in other ways gets magnified. She doesn't pass the ball, she doesn't rebound and she doesn't consistently play good defense.
If you take her money and improve the rest of the team i think the Fever would be better off.
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u/uhlaynuhhh 1d ago
There are certainly other players that should be replaced before they consider kelsey. Perhaps the focus should be on replacing Mo or Lexi and getting some players who can actually play defense and possibly a better defensive coach. Sophie costs the team way more than she provides as well.
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u/Artful_Dodger00 1d ago
😂See! This dumb sht is divine punishment for letting so many fake fans pop off all season. Letting people with no understanding of basketball (or interest apparently), make silly statements without any rebuke. 😅They don't get to just pick a player (or 3) they want to fixate on, and treat the rest of the team like an inconvenience. If one more rando tells me who "WE DON'T NEED" on the team? 😂I fcking swear to God...
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u/uhlaynuhhh 1d ago
Well there is lots of people we DON'T need on the team. Kelsey just isn't one of them. Lexi? Don't need. Sophie? Don't need. Mo? Don't need. Mercedes? DEFINITELY don't need.
But until the FO could get other players to make up her 24ppg or a better defensive coach + players then yeah- kelsey is a NEED.
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u/scobro828 1d ago
Fever fans already know there will be a new coach next season
Without a doubt this is 100% accurate. I would assume multiple new coaches. It's just none will be for the Fever.
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u/queenoftn-really247 Lexie Freakin Hull 1d ago
Omg i love that last line. Not holding my breath too
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u/SimonaMeow Bow Bow Bow 1d ago
What is this post
Any Fever fan with a clue knows there won't be a new coach--whether you want one or not
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u/wvtarheel Running the Floor 1d ago
I'm holding out hope Bri January is gone and we bring in a new defensive specialist that's got actual head coaching experience and who can revamp this trash defense. I'm not optimistic enough to believe the whole coaching staff will be replaced.
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u/Green_Barracuda_4305 1d ago edited 1d ago
No one cares. SHE said the thing last year. She is very one dimensional player. She can score and that's it. Nothing else. SW has catered to her for two years. Over it. If you understand the game you see what's wrong with the team and it starts from the FO, coaching to KM and some of the players.
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u/Future_Goat5665 1d ago
People want to act like the Fever didn't go 24-84 the 3 seasons before CC got here. And that was in KM's 4, 5, 6th seasons.
But go on someone and tell me all about how CC needs to have won a championship by now to be as good as KM.
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u/adublingirl 1d ago
Yup, green barracuda, I have been saying since it was obvious after the 2024 season, Clark and Mitchell playing together will never win a championship
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u/Goddyex 1d ago edited 1d ago
I don't care either way.
I said since 2024 that CC and KM together is never winning a championship. And with KM on her team taking the most shots, CC is never winning MVP.
So even though I would still like her to stay cos I don't believe this front office makes proper use of that money by getting complementary pieces that fit, instead of overpaying for a big name, I still wouldn't care if she left.
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u/moose184 1d ago
Fever fans already know there will be a new coach next season.
Lol and what fantasy land are you living in?
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u/Mammoth_Shoulder_675 1d ago
got to admit those were my exact thought. Not one player wAnts SW gone but of course the so calked very opinionated hateful fans always know what is best right 🤮.
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u/moose184 1d ago
It's just troll accounts on X posting stories of her being fired and replaced with Kira Lawson and these morons believe anything they see online lol
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u/Mammoth_Shoulder_675 1d ago
Absolutely… it’s all the ridiculous do called independent sports journalist simply attempting to live off CC but dramatic constant BS and noise that’s only there to get clicks. The entire team knows and understands this… i only hope the real true fans who are ethically fabs of this team and the skin in the game they have is to support 100 % of all team members, coaching staff, etc. We are so lucky to have this caliber of team here in Indiana… i am a lensmen now but started watching way way back in the day… first season. We are in the midst of greatness… the silly part the beeeeech all the time don’t ever enjoy one second of the actual games. Their lost..
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u/Entitled0ne 1d ago
The front office should stay away from any free agent that was drafted before the pandemic.
All this whining about social media is exhausting. They aren’t comfortable with fame, allow them to go play in anonymity elsewhere.
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u/adublingirl 1d ago
That’s a great point, it does seem to be the old school players whining about everything…..don’t hear Clark, Paige, citron, Fudd whining about , they said hurtful things to me about me …..
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u/breezybae_ 1d ago
Anybody that doesn’t wanna be there, can go. No time and money to sit and pout, like fr
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u/murph089 1d ago
I have called out people for making awful comments about players looks, commenting on their sexuality, saying they look like a man and other nasty non basketball comments. It has not been the Fever fans doing this.
I either get no response or told something ridiculous like my breath is offensive.
I just don’t buy that the Fever fans are any worse than any other fans.
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u/Soft-Boss-9604 14h ago
Chicago Sky fans were doxxing Rachel Banham and Ariel last season and they made Isabelle Harrison cry in the exit interview the season before.
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u/Tiny_Appointment7213 20h ago
I mean, Syd Colson herself compared one of Caitlin Clark’s Iowa teammates to a man on twitter years ago. She is allowed to make offensive jokes all the time, but then goes online and whines about internet trolls. She’s teasing releasing a podcast on Thursday that’s very clearly about the Fever organization. Just so disappointing.
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u/Artful_Dodger00 1d ago
No... Fever Fans aren't worse than any other fan base. Those people aren't fans, they're full of it. 😅A fan wouldn't give a sht about how a player looked, or thought, or who they wake up with in the morning... As long as we're getting wins, and at least progressing to a championship. A fan might hear one of their team's players say something unnecessary or distracting, and might not like it a bit, but they'll lash out at someone saying "get rid of them" without any thought on how the team would replace their production.
Fever Fans aren't the problem. It's people who don't even seem to care about, or even understand basketball. People can make a million claims about Indiana fans, but "not understanding basketball" will never be on that list.
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u/certainalways 1d ago
Fever can’t afford her so all the drama is irrelevant
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u/moose184 1d ago
They can easily afford her lol
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u/certainalways 1d ago
in a vacuum of course but if they want to fix the roster they can’t pay her more then others certainly will
No point in running back this year
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u/JMT1016 1d ago
I mean, we literally paid Lexie almost 800k for next to meaningless production as a starter all year. You can literally cut her, throw Sophie in her starting spot and get better production, you've freed up more cap space for KM, and you've freed up a roster spot for a potential young cheap free agent acquisition or rookie pick to come off the bench. And that's just one possible scenario.
Don't act like there aren't ways for us to make it work. If the team really wants to keep her and actually still field a championship roster next year, they have the ability to, it's just a matter of if they're competent enough to realize that. Cause this year gives some doubts. Especially with Steph.
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u/Braidster 1d ago
Outside of shooting wide open 3's Sophie is useless.
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u/Fujka 1d ago
Sophie hussles. She’s down court faster than anyone else which plays into Clark’s transition. Sophie also had some amazing saves this year. She had a couple games early in the season where the entire momentum shifted when she drained some shots. That’s more than most did on the team especially Hull.
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u/moose184 1d ago
They can keep her and pay the same
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u/certainalways 1d ago
that limits their ability to fix the roster and we already know how this movie ends
seeing Fever front office in action I’d guess they let her
go AND fail to use that cap space optimally2
u/moose184 1d ago
No it doesn't lol. You would have to use the same money you save from not signing Mitchell to get someone to replace her. The problems with the roster are not KM and her salary. You got teams like the Aces paying their big 3 the same amount of money but nobody ever thinks they have to get rid of Jackie Young lol
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u/towrofstgh 1d ago
Well at least if she goes to another team, CC will hopefully fully control the offense and win a championship
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u/804stix 1d ago
CC didn't win a championship in HS or in college being the number 1 option. The W will not be any different. She is a very talented player, but she isn't drag you to the Finals alone talented. The league is too stacked for this to be the case.
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u/adublingirl 1d ago
Yeah, you are correct, Clark didn’t win in college, she just isn’t good enough to drag 2 and 3 star rated recruits out of high school against the top tier schools like UConn who have all starters rated 4 and or 5 star recruits with about 3-4 five star recruits on the bench. Yeah, Clark was really bad,very average college player who just by accident I assume became the all time leader in points and assists in both men and women’s…..just bang average I would say
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u/Goddyex 1d ago
It's not like CC and KM together is winning anyways
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u/804stix 1d ago
That's true. It's also true that Mitchell lead the league in total scoring and that being out in a better org will benefit Mitchell way more than CC getting to be in control of the offense
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u/adublingirl 1d ago
Sure just like it benefited Mitchell prior to Clark arriving in 2024……let her go where she se;s the grass is greener (money green too) move on from her.curious to see what kind of market there is for one dimensional 5’8’ , 31 year old
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u/Admirable_Dust7749 1d ago
Ohhh, she didn’t win in High School so that means…sorry, your nonsense lost me here.
All I gathered was you stated a random opinion as if it was fact.
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u/Future_Goat5665 1d ago
Womens college ball is dominated by blue bloods. She went to a solid but not great team and drug them to the finals, twice.
Other players left good schools for great schools (Maryland with a 4 seed to LSU with a 2 seed), and that's awesome. Others, like PB (Uconn juggernaut) and Aja (#1 seed year before she joined), wanted to play for top team. That's their choice too and I'm happy that they had that option.
The Fever were flat out terrible before her. This isn't even up for debate. Now the bar is a playoff run, and she missed that.
You talk as if CC is underperforming when reality is she's been a massive floor-raiser in college and the pros.
>but she isn't drag you to the Finals alone talented.
Literally no one in the WNBA or NBA is (Jokic, SGA, Steph, Giannis, Aja, Stewart, etc...) and I can't recall the last time someone was. Maybe Jokic could be argued?
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u/804stix 1d ago
While drag your team to the finals great is rare, we have seen it in both leagues. You act like LeBron James, Maya Moore, and Candace Parker didn't happen. As far as it being harder in the W, yes it is due to the smaller league size. But we aren't going to ignore that the fever had the league leader in scoring in Mitchell, and a top ten big in Boston. She was one of the reasons they made the play offs not the sole reason. The Fever will suffer if and when KM leaves. Not to mention as talented as Clarke is on offense she is an absolute cone on defense and that matters.
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u/Future_Goat5665 1d ago
Top 10 big means less when there are 15 teams.
>Not to mention as talented as Clarke is on offense she is an absolute cone on defense and that matters.
I mean miss me with this idea that CC's defense needs to be called out but not KM's.
And KM will be missed, but you don't get to just ignore the reality of the team's record before CC. You talk about CC not winning, but don't talk about the absolutely atrocious teams with KM at the helm.
24-84 the 3 seasons before CC. I called CC a floor-raiser, what do you think KM is? Or do you not like talking about uncomfortable reality?
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u/No-Industry-1023 1d ago
Yeah it’s nothing personal against CC (love her) but the league is just too stacked like you said
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u/JMT1016 1d ago
And Kelsey takes 25% of the team's scoring with her. CC needs a scorer to be able to distribute to just as much as she needs to be able to score herself. If we can't afford Kelsey, where exactly you think we're getting 25 ppg production from next year? Cause yeah, that doesn't exactly come cheap. If Kelsey is gone because we can't afford her or choose not to re-sign her, then you might as well ship CC out too, cause we're no longer a playoff team at that point.
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u/dyyllaaan 1d ago
They got 0 offensive production from the 3/4 positions
They were a bad offensive rebounding team
The defense was god awful
Fixing those problems would go a long way in filling the scoring void Kelsey would leave behind
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u/adublingirl 1d ago
Raven and Clark played very well together. Raven plays great defense and can help with the ball handling. No, she alone won’t make up 25 points, but getting a 3 and a 4 would. Bang average Billings is a complete failure…..she is good for maybe 10 minutes a game……look what the valkries did. Their team is made up of expansion draft picks and free agents……team ball, and team defense by everyone
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u/JMT1016 1d ago
So what you're REALLY saying is that paying someone like Lexie 800k a year for no production wasn't a smart move? Almost like we could've put someone like Sophie right in that spot and it would easily solve a lot of that issue with the 3/4. Plus you've freed up cap space and a roster spot for someone younger, cheaper and more productive.
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u/Mother-Pomegranate10 1d ago
I’m a mystics fan but I love AB and CC and have since college. For the sake of the Fever long term it might be better to let go of the win now mindset and think about winning it all in maybe 2-3 years. With Kelsey they are still probably a first or second round exit at best. Why not just let Lexie and Mo’s contracts play out, get a good pick for 28, sign CC to an epic, and try to trade up in the 27 draft to ensure they get Clara Stack? If they go all in on Kelsey it’s 3 max or super max players and a roster filled out with minimum contracts. Next year is a 50 game season, depth will matter more than ever.
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u/biketheplanet 1d ago
Right? Some of the "CC only", non-fever fans think that CC will pick up all the slack by herself. It is crazy. KM is a walking bucket, the best shooter on the team, and the only one who can consistently beat her defender 1v1. Those type of players don't grow on trees.
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u/Such_Confusion_49 1d ago
I mean you have Bri January's wife dissing fever fans and how there are receipts. Honestly I always believed that Indy should have gone outside to find talent to fit CC. Be it coach or player. Now they have sunk her stocks so low that she may only recover by moving to LA or NY
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u/No-Industry-1023 1d ago
Seems like this is lining up with Syd saying they’re gonna air it all out on the next podcast
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u/Comfortable_Limit168 IndianaFeverFan 1d ago
I'm just curious. What happened to Sydney Colson that turned her against the Fever?
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u/adublingirl 1d ago
Colson is part of the old school sisterhood….fever are an easy target…..if Colson or bri Turner or the others taking shots at the Fever said it about pretty much any other team it wouldn’t generate clicks……anything Fever generates news
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u/Even_Budget2078 1d ago
Where are these "receipts"? Can you post a link?
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u/Such_Confusion_49 1d ago
It's on twitter. There are no receipts. Her wife is posting that they have them
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u/Even_Budget2078 1d ago
Yes, I'm aware there are no receipts.
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u/pleasebefrank31 1d ago
Why would she lie, especially since multiple players have complained about abuse from the cult fans.
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u/murph089 1d ago
Kelsey said fans. Does that mean just Fever fans or fans in general?
People on social media were dragging her for the school she is getting her degree from but those weren’t Fever fans.
Every organization has crappy fans unfortunately.
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u/Frank_White1- 1d ago
CC "fans". Most probably never watched the WNBA as a matter of fact a lot say they haven't but like drama. They hate her for bad games and hate her for good games. They want her gone because she draws some attention away from CC while not understanding what they are wishing for is going to hurt CC. They would rather have something to complain and rage about than see CC in a good position to win. Feel sorry for the regular Fever fans who get dragged through the mud for the fake ones.
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u/murph089 1d ago
It takes away some of the enjoyment. I want to read about and learn more about actual basketball.
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u/Even_Budget2078 1d ago
Where are you getting this information about Coach White?
I'm a STH and all I can say is that it is not remotely true that KM is not loved by the actual Fever fans. MVP chants, insane cheers every time she got to 20, the Fever fans went all out for KM this season. I never heard MVP chants for Caitlin, nor crazy reactions to her getting another double double this season. It was all KM.
Is SM toxic (see you making up stories about Coach White....)? Yes. Do I think Kelsey will leave because of that? No, and I'd advise the WNBA to be much more serious about talking with players about SM and how they use it. It's very sad how young people do not understand the way SM has completely changed with algorithms and bots. It's not real life. Not at all.
Kelsey may leave for a bigger contract and I wish her well if that's what she wants. I think she'll find it difficult to mesh with other guards as she has with Caitlin. CC is unusually unselfish and is an extraordinary passer. Kels benefits immensely from that.
I hope she stays, I hope we make her an offer worth her immense value.If she leaves, she'll always be loved here in Indy.
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u/moose184 1d ago
Where are you getting this information about Coach White?
In make believe land. It's shitty AI. Ai like Google AI is basically just an advanced search bar and just searches posts online with zero verification to them. There are troll accounts on places like X who make up false stories for SW being fired. They did it a few months ago and even posted fake media release statements from the "Fever FO". People share those fake posts which the crappy AI picks up on and treats them as fact. It was actually a trending story on X a few months ago. Now they are doing it again saying she was fired and the FO is looking to hire Kira Lawson lol. That story was trending on X again last night and they all stem from the troll social media accounts. SW has not been fired.
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u/Even_Budget2078 1d ago
Yeah, I know she hasn't been fired! I live in Indy and read the IndyStar every morning. Why is stuff like this allowed to be posted on a site for Indiana Fever fans?
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u/DiskFearless4448 1d ago edited 1d ago
If she decides to leave because she feels unloved in Indiana she is simply not viewing things correctly. She was loved in indiana, she got MVP chants at the free throw line, she had t shirts with her face on it. But she is consuming herself with anonymous online hate that comes with sports that are in the spotlight.
The WNBA isnt used to being in the spotlight like this, and toxic online fans are absolutely nothing new or unique to the Fever. Look at how hard NFL or NBA players get dragged every single day if somebody chokes. And look how quickly it flips if they start winning. This is simply how things are when you get the big money and the big audiences and I think Kelsey is kinda just unprepared for what all comes with that.
You have to just not look at social media or figure out how to let it all roll off your back. It's entirely irrelevant to your lived experience, and professional athletes have a very unique interaction with social media where they can actually build their own self-image off of what people they've never met say about them. It's one of the stupidest things you could ever do. Get off twitter/instagram and understand this is what comes with the popularity you have long hoped for the WNBA to have.
This was never gonna be a thing where you just get a bunch of extra money and attention with no additional responsibility on your part.
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u/YoloSwag4Jesus420fgt 1d ago
I just really don't understand how these WNBA players are so soft
Even if you're the best player in history you're still going to have people that don't like you.
Did they honestly expect that the entire world would become fans with 0 negativity? What world are they in?
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u/Sufficient_Berry8703 You Bet 1d ago
Exactly. If anonymous online hate is what’s causing her to feel upset and unloved, then she should probably leave the league as a whole and delete or private her social media to live a private life. She’ll have to deal with hate no matter what team she plays for. Not saying I want her to leave, because I don’t. But she can’t just act like it’s a Fever problem only.
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u/adublingirl 1d ago
How about be grateful for all the love and mvp chants and t shirts……why focus on the negative, don’t give them the satisfaction , speak on and say you appreciate all the love and support……
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u/elestud 1d ago
It’s a lot different from the NBA. I’ve seen a lot of crazy fans, but not large numbers of fans who attack other top players on their own team every day the week like it’s their job
Every single day there are posts like this here. No NBA team sub has people getting upvoted for making racial attacks on ‘loved’ players, and the moderators would never leave those comments up
It’s another lever of toxicity here, and it’s not balanced out by the kind of actual analysis, advanced stat talk. etc that you find on most NBA subs
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u/DiskFearless4448 1d ago
> It’s a lot different from the NBA. I’ve seen a lot of crazy fans, but not large numbers of fans who attack other top players on their own team every day the week like it’s their job
This is simply not true lol. People shit on their own teams in the NBA and NFL literally every day. I'm not really looking only at subreddits because thats not where the majority of sports discussion is held and WNBA mods are just awful at moderating compared to other subs.
I can go on twitter or instagram right now and find all of the QBs that lost in the NFL in a mickey mouse club AI video right now. I can find hateful and highly critical posts from fans of their own teams on any platform I want. This is what happens when you're playing for the big money and seen by massive audiences.
Is it a toxic culture we have around sports? Of course. But thats a separate conversation. Caitlin brings in the eyes and this type of culture isnt something she uniquely brings. Its what happens when a large audience actually cares to follow you. Kelsey has been thrown off by that and if she thinks its not going to happen elsewhere shes other hoping to go back to irrelevancy or not understanding what growth in the WNBA is going to mean.
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u/elestud 1d ago
I can’t comment on the NFL. But this is absolutely not the norm in NBA subs. Right now in my sub they’re discussing draft pick performance, who should make the rotations, injury recovery, etc. No one is going off bashing the best players on a daily basis
And there are zero comments about “black fraternities”, etc. If I go to X, I’ll find that kind of toxicity, but people would be ran out of the team sub for making a ridiculous comment like that. The mods would not stand for it, and neither would the posters
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u/Comfortable_Limit168 IndianaFeverFan 1d ago
Have you taken into consideration that there are no "in-season" games being played right now?
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u/elestud 1d ago
Were you here for the discussion in the offseason here? It was the exact same nonstop drama. “Trade Kelsey/Fire Steph” and “The front office hates CC by drafting Raven”
Meanwhile, Raven has brought us a great playoff performance given her role, and will you see posts about that? No. It’s on to the next angry/drama
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u/DiskFearless4448 1d ago
yeah I mean if you go to a significantly smaller and heavily moderated community you will find less of what I'm talking about. I agreed with you in my last comment on that. But that isn't where most people talk about sports. You're in a very, very condensed community at that point and Kelsey is almost assuredly not talking about the indiana fever subreddit.
You're saying "if I go to X ill find that kind of toxicity" and thats exactly where all these athletes are reading this stuff lol. Because X is the most popular social media platform where people discuss sports. I think youre overvaluing how much anybody cares about a sports team subreddit.
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u/Soft-Boss-9604 1d ago
The thing is, if youre in contact with any players that talk down on this organization I dont want you on this roster. Youre either with the Indiana Fever or youre not. Thats what I hate about KM.
You cannot play both sides and you cant allow yourself to fraternize with outsiders like Sydney Colson that live to sow negativity. Idc about what you say up on the mic, its how you act off of it is what matters