Fever reporter Scott Agness says team revoked his credentials after reporting on Caitlin Clark injury

The Indiana Fever found themselves in hot water in May after failing to report an injury for star guard Caitlin Clark. Despite not being listed on the injury report, Clark was a late scratch for a game against the Portland Fire. It was initially reported that Clark’s absence was part of a “strategic management plan,” in other words, she was sitting for load-management reasons.

Now, the reporter who brought that issue to light says he’s no longer able to get credentials for Fever games. In a newsletter post Tuesday, Scott Agness said the team informed him he was having his credentials revoked over “the spread of inaccurate and unsubstantiated information.”

Scott explained that the Fever took issue with his use of the term “strategic management plan” when reporting on Clark’s injury. Agness said he briefly met with team PR, who told him they believed his tweet was false. He then said his credentials were revoked without any further conversation. In response, Agness said he stood by his reporting, which was sourced and updated as more information became available.

Clark and the Fever initially came under fire after the star guard was surprisingly ruled out ahead of the team’s game against the Fire on May 20. After Agness’ “strategic management plan” tweet, the organization went into damage control, with head coach Stephanie White stating Clark was “healthy” and that the team wasn’t “managing anything.”

At some point during her various meetings with the media on game day, White revealed Clark was not a participant in practice the previous day. Despite that, the team did not list Clark as part of its injury report. That was a potential violation of WNBA rules, which state “player injuries” and “participation status” must be reported by 5 p.m. local time the day before a game.

The WNBA looked into the situation and issued a warning to the Fever for their actions. Ahead of the team’s next game, Clark was listed as “probable” on the team’s injury report due to a back issue. She played in that contest, dropping 22 points in a win.

A day after Agness revealed his ban, the WNBA chapter of the Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA) issued a statement objecting to “any reporter losing access for the act of reporting.” The PBWA mentioned the Fever in its tweet, though did not mention the team, Agness or Clark in its statement.

(Disclosure: Yahoo Sports’ Cassandra Negley is a member of the PBWA’s WNBA chapter board.)

Agness said he’s covered the Fever since 2013 and is disappointed by the decision. Despite having his credentials revoked, Agness said he’s still committed to “covering the Fever, the Pacers and professional basketball in Indiana with the same standards I always have.”