WEBVTT - Tony Katz on Stephanie White's Press Conference

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<v Speaker 1>Stephanie White is the coach of the Indiana Fever, and

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<v Speaker 1>she made a statement before the game that the Fever

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<v Speaker 1>played against the New York Liberty. That did not help her,

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<v Speaker 1>did not help the Indiana Fever, did not help the WNBA.

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<v Speaker 1>If anything, it made her look weak, it made the

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<v Speaker 1>team look weak, and it made the WNBA look like

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<v Speaker 1>they don't quite understand what the issue is. Tony Katz,

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<v Speaker 1>Tony Katz today and for the Jamel Hills and everybody

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<v Speaker 1>else who wants to say that we don't have the

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<v Speaker 1>right to talk about this and we're just obsessing over

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<v Speaker 1>this because of race. The WNBA has a choice to make.

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<v Speaker 1>The WNBA can decide that they are in the business

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<v Speaker 1>of being a league, or the WNBA can decide that

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<v Speaker 1>they are in the business of being a welfare recipient.

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<v Speaker 1>Four years the WNBA was a welfare recipient. The NBA

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to create a league for women. The league never

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<v Speaker 1>made any money, the league never got any traction, and

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<v Speaker 1>yet it's still got funded. Now, living in Indiana might

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<v Speaker 1>be different our team than other teams, because this is

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<v Speaker 1>this is a basketball state, right The expression here is

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<v Speaker 1>in forty nine other states. It's just basketball but this

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<v Speaker 1>is Indiana. They take it at a level I cannot

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<v Speaker 1>describe to you. It's unbelievable. Rights it's in the same

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<v Speaker 1>way this this state views the month of May because

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<v Speaker 1>that's when the Indianapolis five hundred happens. Now, every state

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<v Speaker 1>has something that connects for the people who live there.

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<v Speaker 1>It is a thing for them. Basketball for sure, for sure,

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<v Speaker 1>And so we did pay attention to the Indiana fever

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<v Speaker 1>and we had great Tamika Catchings was a great ambassador

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<v Speaker 1>for the league and was a star of her time.

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<v Speaker 1>And then Caitlyn Clark came to town. Well the rest

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<v Speaker 1>is history, as you know, and more people paid attention,

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<v Speaker 1>and that upsets some people because this girl was getting

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<v Speaker 1>attention and these weren't getting attention, and this was big

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<v Speaker 1>a tree, and that's when the crazy fouls would start.

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<v Speaker 1>Some things I think Caitlyn Clark complained about that weren't

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<v Speaker 1>worth complaining about. And some things she was absolutely right

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<v Speaker 1>and everybody saw it. But with Caitlyn Clark came the

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to become a league that could be self sufficient.

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<v Speaker 1>They went from commercial flights to charter flights, private better hotels.

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<v Speaker 1>They started to play in real arenas they moved games

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<v Speaker 1>and people were like, well, if you're gonna put on

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<v Speaker 1>a show, we want to see it. If it's gonna

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<v Speaker 1>be entertaining, we want to see it. My daughters now

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<v Speaker 1>want to go absolutely, I'm taking them fantastic. The w

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<v Speaker 1>NBA has on every level shown that they were not

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<v Speaker 1>up to the moment, because it's not that they could

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<v Speaker 1>control the criticism criticisms from without. It has nothing to

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<v Speaker 1>do with the criticisms from without. They could not handle

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<v Speaker 1>the criticisms from within the players, the coaches and the

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<v Speaker 1>media that clearly didn't want this for their little league.

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<v Speaker 1>And so there's been a lot of talk and with

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<v Speaker 1>the Sophie Cunningham conversations about how girls sports would be

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<v Speaker 1>for girls. They don't like that either. And now going

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<v Speaker 1>after Sophie Cunningham and the clothes line uh tackle if

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<v Speaker 1>you will from uh De Johnny uh dejohn de Janna

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<v Speaker 1>is a Dejona, the Djona djon a thank you Djna

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<v Speaker 1>Carrington and people have been talking about this more. Well.

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<v Speaker 1>This became a thing because it was a close line.

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<v Speaker 1>By the way Sophie Cunningham has done this before. She's

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<v Speaker 1>tackled people on court before, she got thrown out of

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<v Speaker 1>the game. Carrington got thrown out of the game, and

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<v Speaker 1>then she immediately put white privilege. Good lord, she's trying

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<v Speaker 1>to backtrack that a lot of criticism. That brings us

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<v Speaker 1>to the coach of the Indiana Fever, Stephanie White, who,

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<v Speaker 1>when first asked about the foul against her player Sophie Cunningham,

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<v Speaker 1>was like, listen, these girls are gonna play hard. And

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<v Speaker 1>now she comes to have a presser where she is

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<v Speaker 1>going after the detractors and claiming she never saw the play.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, this isn't necessarily for those people that are

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<v Speaker 2>in this room.

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<v Speaker 1>This is more for an.

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<v Speaker 2>Online community that's trying to create narratives that simply don't exist,

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<v Speaker 2>trying to create a fabrication or disortion of who I am,

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<v Speaker 2>of what I'm about. Our player's success, our player's health

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<v Speaker 2>and wellness, our player safety is always a top priority.

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<v Speaker 2>One of the things I pride myself on is my

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<v Speaker 2>relationships with players. For those who have anything to say

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<v Speaker 2>about the play in the last game, I didn't see

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<v Speaker 2>the play in real time. I went straight to a

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<v Speaker 2>press conference. I thought the play got called right, thankfully,

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<v Speaker 2>Sophie's okay, was it egregious. Absolutely. When you have a

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<v Speaker 2>chance to watch that over and over and over on replay,

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<v Speaker 2>you can see that I didn't have that in real time.

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<v Speaker 2>I take personally sorry any suggestions that I don't one

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<v Speaker 2>hundred always have my players back. I ride with them

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<v Speaker 2>ten toes down all the time, all of the time.

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<v Speaker 2>They know that it's a shame that we can't have

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<v Speaker 2>an opportunity to talk about what great basketball they're playing

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<v Speaker 2>because they are team playing. The reality is with me.

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<v Speaker 1>I will always lead with love, I will always lead with.

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<v Speaker 2>Grace, I will all lead with humility, and I will

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<v Speaker 2>always lead with integrity. Doesn't mean I'll always get a writer.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm also human. The hate, the fear mongering, the divisiveness,

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<v Speaker 2>the stuff that's trying to hijack our league will not win.

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<v Speaker 1>It won't win.

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<v Speaker 2>We are united, we are connected. We will not be divided.

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<v Speaker 2>Every day. These women put their ass on the line

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<v Speaker 2>every day when they go low, we go high. Love

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<v Speaker 2>go win, Grace will win, Humility will win, and kindness

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<v Speaker 2>will win. I stand by them. I will always stand

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<v Speaker 2>by them. Everybody else can go to hell.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh okay, I'm gonna start where I start. That was

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<v Speaker 1>poorly done. That was poorly advised. She embarrassed herself, She

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<v Speaker 1>embarrassed the Fever organization. She embarrassed the WNBA. If you

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<v Speaker 1>allow your emotions to control you, there is nothing else

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<v Speaker 1>that can happen. Now, it's possible that men see this

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<v Speaker 1>differently than women looking at my chat room. Nope, we

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<v Speaker 1>all see it the same way. But I want to

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<v Speaker 1>break down a couple of things she said, just to

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<v Speaker 1>show how disconnected it is from reality. The online community

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<v Speaker 1>has an issue. You mean the fan You mean the

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<v Speaker 1>people who want to show up and want to pay you.

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<v Speaker 1>They want to give you their money, And you're making

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<v Speaker 1>it more and more difficult because you won't admit that

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<v Speaker 1>they targeted Caitlin Clark, and you won't admit that there's

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<v Speaker 1>a real racism within the WNBA, and you won't say

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<v Speaker 1>the W stand for women. If you did not see

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<v Speaker 1>the foul in real time, Coach White, why did you

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<v Speaker 1>comment on it? I think that's a very legitimate criticism.

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<v Speaker 1>Why'd you comment on it? Why not say I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>see it. I need to go back and watch it.

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<v Speaker 1>You defended Carrington, you defended Djona. Shouldn't have You should

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<v Speaker 1>have admitted to that. You're going to lead with love, grace, humility,

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<v Speaker 1>and integrity, and hate, fear mongering and divisiveness will not win.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell that to the players in the WNBA, Tell that

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<v Speaker 1>to the coaches in the WNBA. Tell that to the

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<v Speaker 1>media in the WNBA, not me. Love will win, grace

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<v Speaker 1>and kindness will win, and everybody else can go to hell. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>if you wanted to take a big giant crap on

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<v Speaker 1>your own message, Coach White, bravo. You did no favors

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<v Speaker 1>here for yourself, for your team, or the league. And

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<v Speaker 1>I think there should be a conversation about whether or

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<v Speaker 1>not you have the temperament to be a coach, because

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<v Speaker 1>as a fan you just told them to go to help.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm toning, guys,