Allisha Gray spat highlights Indiana Fever's continued culture problem

Jeremy Beren

Allisha Gray spat highlights Indiana Fever's continued culture problem image

Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Despite a dramatic blowout win that kept their postseason dreams alive, despite securing that victory with several players out injured for the remainder of the 2025 WNBA season, the Indiana Fever continue to have a culture problem.

With 6:10 to go in the fourth quarter of the Fever's 77-60 win over the Atlanta Dream, security at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis ejected two fans after Allisha Gray, the Dream's mild-mannered All-Star guard, alerted arena personnel to comments that the fans made to her.

The visibly-upset Gray did not even get back on defense as the fans continued to engage her, and she was not made available to the media after the game.

It is not the first time this season that an Indiana fan has gone viral for interacting abrasively with an opposing player. In the fourth quarter of a July game between the Fever and the Connecticut Sun in Boston, a fan in a Caitlin Clark shirsey was ejected for taunting Sun rookie Saniya Rivers.

MORE: Sun's Saniya Rivers opens up on viral incident during Fever showdown

Since Caitlin Clark's arrival dropped a wave of new fans on the Fever's doorstep, Indiana has become the WNBA's top draw and its most marketable team. During this time, the Fever also have been cultivating an image that is rankling fans and opposing players.

One only needs to go back a few months to see how proudly guard Sophie Cunningham donned a Barstool Sports-manufactured "Tres Leches" shirt, in reference to the self-styled nickname for the Indiana trio of Clark, Cunningham and guard Lexie Hull. Barstool has long been a lightning rod for criticism; several of its top personalities were forced to apologize in April for spreading an unfounded rumor about an Ole Miss freshman named Mary Kate Cornett.

The Fever doubtlessly celebrated winning Game 2 against the Dream, which forces a winner-take-all Game 3 back in Atlanta on Thursday night. But the win -- and Indiana's season-long resilience in the face of devastating injuries to Clark, Cunningham and others -- is being clouded by more disrespectful behavior from Fever fans.

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Jeremy Beren

Jeremy Beren is a freelance WNBA writer with The Sporting News. A Phoenix native, he is a graduate of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and he has a decade’s worth of sports journalism experience. Jeremy's work has appeared in publications such as Marca, SB Nation, Athlon Sports and Vice Sports. He currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.