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Michael VoepelMay 27, 2025, 05:46 PM ET
- Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
The WNBA announced Tuesday that it had not substantiated a report of racist fan behavior at an Indiana-Chicago game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis earlier this month.
“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 league said in a statement. “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 fan behavior was alleged to have occurred after Indiana’s Caitlin Clark fouled Chicago’s Angel Reese in the third quarter of the teams’ season opener. Reese objected to the foul, which was later upgraded to a flagrant 1. Both Reese and Indiana’s Aliyah Boston were assessed technical fouls after Reese went to confront Clark and Boston stepped in to keep the players separated.
Following the game, Reese and Clark — who were meeting for the seventh time in their ongoing and much-talked about rivalry — downplayed the incident between them.
“Basketball play,” Reese said. “Refs got it right. Move on.”
Neither team mentioned nor alluded to any fan remarks in the postgame news conferences after Indiana’s 93-58 victory. But it became a topic on social media and the WNBA announced it would investigate. Players from both teams later said they supported the investigation and the league’s efforts to be vigilant about fan behavior.
“There’s no place for that in our game, there’s no place for that in society,” Clark told reporters on May 19. “Certainly, we want every person who comes into our arena — whether player or fan – to have a great experience. I appreciate the league doing that [investigation]. I appreciate that the Fever organization has been at the forefront of that.”
Both teams had issued statements supporting the investigation, as did the WNBA Players Union.
“We appreciate the swift and thorough process undertaken by the WNBA to investigate these allegations, which were not substantiated,” the Fever said in a statement Tuesday. “At Gainbridge Fieldhouse, we are committed to providing the best possible basketball experience for players and fans where hate speech has absolutely no place.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
