Fever Bar Writer Scott Agness Over Caitlin Clark Injury Reporting

Veteran Indianapolis basketball reporter Scott Agness says his credentials have been revoked by the Fever after his recent coverage of Caitlin Clark’s injury status.

Agness launched his Fieldhouse Files website covering the Pacers and Fever on Substack in 2020. He was previously the Pacers beat reporter for The Athletic. 

Agness announced Tuesday on his site that his Fever credentials were pulled after he reported that the Fever’s late scratch of Clark less than two hours before the team’s May 20 game against the Fire was “part of a strategic management plan” given it was the team’s fourth game in eight days, and that Clark was not seriously hurt. He wrote the team later barred him for alleged “spread of inaccurate and unsubstantiated information.”

The Fever declined to comment to Front Office Sports. Spokespeople for the NBA, WNBA, and Excel, the agency that represents Clark, did not respond to requests for comment.

The entire PBWA WNBA Chapter board—reporters Howard Megdal, Kareem Copeland, Alexa Phillipou, Cassandra Negley and Sabreena Merchant—denounced the treatment of Agness in a statement to FOS.

“The PBWA objects in the strongest possible terms to any reporter losing access for the act of reporting,” the statement said. “Any effort to prevent reporters from doing the work of informing the public reflects poorly on any team and league which attempts to do so, and runs contrary to the best interests of all involved, most of all the public.”

Agness recounted the back-and-forth with the organization on Tuesday.

“Fever PR asked about the tweet [about the strategic management plan], and said it needed to be retracted because it was false. I said that while I understood her position, I have a trusted source and stand by my reporting. And that I would update the story to share whatever [Fever coach Stephanie] White said during her pregame availability,” Agness told FOS, noting that he did update his story to reflect her remarks. 

“She’s healthy,” Agness reported White as saying in her press conference, “we’re not managing anything. This is just a back issue that we want to make sure we give the time to be ready.” This effectively represented a denial of the report by the coach.

The following day, Clark told reporters that she made the late decision not to play in the game against the Fire. “At the end of the day, it’s me and my confidence,” she said. “I have a great team around me. I trust our medical staff a lot. I have my own personal people that really help me too. My sports psych[ologist], I talk to him a lot too.” 

Agness told FOS that there hasn’t been a formal process for reinstatement, and that he emailed a full explanation of the situation to Fever PR, which responded that they stood by their decision. 

His predicament has generated a lot of publicity, as his post on Twitter/X announcing his banishment from Fever credentials has generated over 200,000 views as of 4:50 p.m. ET on Tuesday. 

“Reaction appears to be very positive. I’ve heard from a lot of my media colleagues. Right now, there’s a lot of opinions and theories out there about the team,” Agness said. “Therefore, reporting — from inside and outside the organization — is critical. What’s happening in the industry just this week, including several major publications making job cuts, is not lost on me either.

This is not Agness’s first brush with credential revocation from Pacers Sports & Entertainment, which owns both the Pacers and the Fever. His credentials with the Pacers have been barred since 2024, when he was accused of parking in the media lot without permission during the 2024 All-Star Game, a charge he denies.

“Before then, I was approached and embarrassed in front of other media and local PR people in the media room,” Agness told FOS. “Since then, I’ve handled it privately and continued to cover the team. I’ve asked countless times to have a conversation so that we can gain understanding and enjoy a fresh start. But those messages are not returned.”