WNBA warns Fever after Caitlin Clark injury report lapse

The WNBA warned the Indiana Fever after Caitlin Clark was ruled out about 100 minutes before tipoff and the team did not list her back injury in time for its game against Portland at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Clark had not practiced the day before, but she was still absent from the injury report until less than two hours before the Fever’s 90-73 win on May 20, a lapse that put league disclosure rules under a bright spotlight.

Those rules are not vague. The WNBA requires teams to report injuries, illnesses, other medical conditions or rest by 5 p.m. local time the day before a game, with a 1 p.m. local deadline on the day of the game for the second game of a back-to-back. Clark’s status changed, but the update did not arrive on time. For a player whose availability moves television interest, attendance and betting markets, the delay was more than a paperwork error. It was a test of whether the league’s transparency standards are being enforced with the same urgency that now follows its biggest star.

Indiana still handled Portland behind a strong team effort. Aliyah Boston scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Kelsey Mitchell added 21 points, and Tyasha Harris made her first start in Clark’s place with seven assists, two steals and no turnovers. The Fever improved to 3-2, and the game drew 14,010 fans, a reminder of how much attention Clark’s presence, or absence, brings to every Fever night.

Head coach Stephanie White said the Fever did not list Clark earlier because “we expected her to play” and because her “back is sore,” adding that the training staff would have more detail. White also said she did not expect Indiana to be fined. Clark was listed as probable for Friday’s home game against Golden State, suggesting the team expected her back quickly after the scare.

The episode also fits a broader injury history. Clark had not missed a game earlier in the 2026 season, but her 2025 campaign ended on July 15, 2025, after a right groin injury. She had previously said her back “gets out of line pretty quickly,” a line that now carries extra weight as the league tries to balance star power with compliance. In a season built around unprecedented attention, the WNBA’s warning to Indiana was a reminder that disclosure rules protect more than competitive integrity. They protect the trust that now surrounds every Clark update.