‘Everybody else can go to hell’: WNBA coach quotes Michelle Obama while rampaging against critics

WNBA Coach Stephanie White was the source of a lot of mixed messaging on Tuesday night.

With comments about love and hate and some frustrated banging on the table, the coach seemed furious about how fans have reacted to the way she runs her team, the Indiana Fever.

‘Love will win.’

Before the Fever’s game against the New York Liberty, the Fever head coach appeared for a pregame press conference, where she addressed backlash she has received over a foul on one of her stars, Sophie Cunningham.

Cunningham was clotheslined on Saturday night by Chicago Sky player DiJonai Carrington, who was subsequently ejected.

Calls for White to be fired have been amplified since then due to widespread claims that she hasn’t been standing up for her players — including league star Caitlin Clark. BlazeTV host of “Fearless” Jason Whitlock posted to X Tuesday that White “Has. To. Be. Fired. Immediately.”

The coach has seemingly reached a boiling point.

On Tuesday, White was focused on calling out “an online community that’s trying to create narratives that simply don’t exist.”

The 49-year-old soon launched into platitudes and claims that “love” is at the forefront of her choices.

“The reality is with me, I will always lead with love. I will always lead with grace. I will always lead with humility. And I will always lead with integrity,” the coach said.

White went on, raising her voice and getting visibly frustrated, soon banging on the table in front of her. This was followed by a direct quote from former first lady Michelle Obama from the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

“We are united. We are connected. We will not be divided. Every day these women put their ass on the line. Every day. When they go low, we go high. Love will win, grace will win, humility will win, and kindness will win. I stand by them,” the coach concluded.

“I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell.”

RELATED: Black WNBA player blames ‘white privilege’ after getting ejected for flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham

White did address accusations that she seemingly wasn’t concerned with her own player after the hard foul, explaining that she “didn’t see the play in real time” and went “straight to a press conference” afterward.

After saying she prides herself on her relationships with her players, White told reporters that player safety is a “top priority.” The coach called the foul “egregious” and said she takes “personally” the idea that she does not support her players.

“I ride with them 10 toes down all the time. All the time,” White stated.

Her words haven’t convinced everyone who pays attention to the league. Even Barstool Sports owner and “legit Fever fan” Dave Portnoy has grown tired of the team’s excuses.

“This [didn’t] really feel like an apology. More her yelling at us for trying to divide the locker room or something,” Portnoy wrote on X.

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Portnoy said it felt like Fever fans were being blamed for Carrington’s wild postgame online comments, which were simply the words “WHITE PRIVILEGE” directed at the Fever’s account.

“That’s what is dividing people,” Portnoy continued. “Fever fans and players get blamed for everything under the sun. We’re not trying to divide anybody, but [it’s] Fever vs the world and we want a coach who feels and acts that way.”

White said she wished there were more opportunities to discuss actual basketball, but she herself cut the press conference short after just two minutes. Instead, she gave ample time to call out what she believes to be “hate,” “fearmongering,” and “divisiveness” that is trying to “hijack” the WNBA.

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