Indiana Fever president Kelly Krauskopf deleted her X account on Friday after receiving backlash for some remarks she made about Caitlin Clark.
In video that circulated on social media Friday, Krauskopf discussed her ambition to make the Fever a global brand. Some fans took offense to a reference she made about Clark and Aliyah Boston and felt Krauskopf was diminishing their importance to the franchise.
“We want to sustain the growth and the interest level in the franchise,” Krauskopf said. “This is about the Indiana Fever. Yes, we have a foundational player in Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. But I want this team to be a leader in the country, an enduring brand like Apple or something.”
“We want to sustain the growth, the interest level in the franchise. I mean this is about the Indiana Fever. We have foundational players in Caitlin and Aliyah. But I want this team to be a leader in the country. An enduring brand like Apple or something." pic.twitter.com/bPPqxJmoCq
— correlation (@nosyone4) July 11, 2025
Many felt that Krauskopf’s remarks were minimizing the importance of Clark to the Fever brand. Some pointed out that many people that root for the Fever only took interest in the team because of Clark’s presence.
Apple made the iphone. Indiana has Caitlin. Apple pushed the iphone as their crowning achievement and sold it to the world to become the biggest company in the history of mankind.
— Rikkidon'tlosethat# (@showbizkid12) July 11, 2025
Indiana pushes their iphone to the back of the roster and gushes over their ipad, imac.
Brands don’t “sustain growth” they build or lose momentum. Sustaining is a loss of momentum. Magnitude is a big portion of thr momentum formula (Mass). A wide majority of your mass currently is Caitlin Clark. Not using it is slows momentum. It’s simple math. And basic brand…
— james (@The_foundersnet) July 12, 2025
The backlash was swift enough that, according to Ben Nagle of the Daily Mail, Krauskopf had deactivated her X account as of Friday evening.
Presumably, the Fever know many of their new fans are Clark fans. The team’s job is to make those people want to remain Fever fans. Any perceived insults directed Clark’s way are not going to help, even if they are not meant critically.
The city of Indianapolis is certainly embracing Clark. The perception is that the Fever are not doing the same, fairly or not.
