There’s a war being waged against Caitlin Clark and her fans, and the latest shot didn’t come from an opposing team—it came from inside the house. A betrayal so blatant and shameless that it has ripped the friendly mask off the Indiana Fever organization and exposed something ugly underneath. The man who pulled the trigger is Scott Agness, a reporter sold to the public as a trusted insider with unparalleled access to the team. With that access, he penned an article that can only be described as a declaration of hostilities against the very people who revitalized the franchise: the fans. And in doing so, he may have just given Clark a million reasons to get out of Indiana.

Let’s be perfectly clear: Agness’s central claim is a lie. In his piece, he paints Clark’s fanbase as a “nasty” and “dark” force, so toxic that it has allegedly driven Fever players off social media. This is not just an exaggeration; it is a demonstrably false narrative. Has Agness checked the internet recently? Aaliyah Boston, the Fever’s cornerstone player, is more online than ever, having just launched her own podcast to connect directly with fans. Sophie Cunningham’s social media presence has exploded in popularity, and she, too, has embraced the digital world with a new podcast. Kelsey Mitchell, KK Morris, Lexi Hull—they are all still there. To suggest they are in digital hiding is a fabrication designed to pathologize the most engaged fanbase in the league’s history.

The hypocrisy is staggering. Every single night, Fever players endure a torrent of genuine abuse. Sophie Cunningham is booed relentlessly in every city. Aaliyah Boston and Sydney Colson have been targets of vicious online attacks from opposing fanbases. Where are the think pieces from Mr. Agness about that? Where is the collective media hand-wringing when a Fever fan is harassed or when their players are called vile names? The silence is deafening. Apparently, vitriol is only a problem when it flows from the supporters of Caitlin Clark. When her fans boo, they are “nasty.” When they demand accountability for a poor performance, they are a “dark side.” It’s a pathetic, transparent double standard designed to tame the very passion that is making the league relevant.

Do not be naive enough to think Agness went rogue. A reporter with his level of intimate access does not publish a story that incendiary, one that attacks the organization’s primary customer base, without some form of institutional blessing. This feels like a sanctioned hit piece, a message from an organization that seems to resent the very phenomenon it profits from. The Indiana Fever are a team transformed, enjoying sold-out arenas, charter flights, and a mountain of merchandise sales, all because of one woman. And their response is to allow their pet reporter to stab her and her supporters in the back. They are using her for money while simultaneously trying to control and condemn the culture she brought with her.

It’s a scam. They promised her the world, just as they reportedly promised former players like Natasha Howard things they never delivered. They present themselves as the stewards of basketball’s biggest star, but their actions scream of an ungrateful and dishonest operation. They refuse to protect her on the court and now refuse to defend her and her fans off of it. They want her talent, her ticket sales, and her TV ratings, but they don’t want the accountability, the passion, and the sheer force of personality that comes with it. They want the golden goose, but they hate the noise it makes.

This brings us to the only logical conclusion: Caitlin Clark needs to escape the Indiana Fever. This organization has proven it does not deserve her. It is not a healthy environment for a generational talent. She is the whole cake, not the icing, and she delivered herself to a franchise that seems determined to chip away at her piece by piece. She needs to instruct her agent to put the league on notice. This arrangement is not working. The trust has been broken beyond repair. She gave them everything, and in return, they’ve allowed her to be betrayed from within. It’s time for her to leave this dysfunctional situation behind and find a team that will celebrate, not just tolerate, the revolution she represents.