Mercury Star Explodes on Fever Fans Over ‘Distasteful’ Treatment of DeWanna Bonner

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Michael Gallagher covers national trending news across the NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, college football and entertainment for Newsweek.

He brings over a decade of writing and editing experience in sports journalism, has won multiple Tennessee Press Association awards, and covered several notable events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game, and an NHL Stadium Series.

His previous bylines can be found on Athlon Sports, Yahoo Sports, The Hockey News, Fox Sports, the Nashville Scene, the Nashville Post, Yardbarker, and SB Nation. You can read more of Michael’s work by following him on X @MGsports_.

Michael Gallagher

Contributing Sports Writer

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

When the Indiana Fever signed six-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion DeWanna Bonner during the offseason, fans rejoiced that the team brought in a veteran with championship experience.

Fever fans thought they were getting a rock star legend who averaged double-digit points for 15 straight seasons and could help alleviate some of the pressure on stars Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston to carry the team by themselves.

Instead what they got was one 21-point performance in six games followed by a weekslong headache after a clear rift had developed between Bonner and the Fever that resulted in her asking to be traded and ultimately released not long after.

Bonner claimed she wasn’t a good fit for the Fever’s new offensive system under new head coach Stephanie White, and after she was cut free, Bonner returned to the Phoenix Mercury — the team she spent the first 10 years of her career with and the team that her fiancée Alyssa Thomas also plays for.

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The public breakup between Bonner and Indiana presumably left a bad taste in Fever fan’s mouths, so when she returned to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the first time since parting ways with the team last month, they made sure to let her know that they still harbored hard feelings toward the 37-year-old forward.

Bonner logged four points and a rebound in 1 minutes off the bench, and the Mercury came up short 107-101.

While Fever fans likely felt 100% justified in their booing and jeering of Bonner, her teammate Kahleah Copper ripped into Fever fans after the game for what she believed was disrespectful behavior.

“I think she handled it well,” Copper said, via Aya Abdeen of The 9450. “I just don’t understand. She’s a legend and all the things that she’s done for the league, just the disrespect — I can’t get down with it. They booed her. She didn’t say a word to the crowd.

“People talked some trash to her, but we had her back. But it’s just very distasteful for what their fan base is doing as far as when it comes to DB because she’s just the sweetest soul. The situation didn’t work for her, and that’s just not what she wanted or whatever. We just don’t need all of that. It’s just unnecessary.”

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Copper’s comments struck a chord with many Fever fans on social media, and they took to the comment section to let her know they felt their actions were more than justified.

“I think if you abandon your team for no explained reason then you should expect to get booed by those fans, and that applies for any professional sport,” one fan exclaimed.

“lol this is basic sports fandom. Of course she gets Boo’d. Y’all want people to watch your sport but then whine when fans treat it like a sport,” another fan scoffed.

“I 100% believe any player in any sports league should get boo’d/be hated by the crowd in this scenario,” one user declared.

“Imagine a NBA LEGEND signed to the Celtics or Lakers on a MAX CONTRACT and mysteriously dipped out after 5 games and the team couldn’t get anything in return. They wouldn’t be able to step foot in Boston/LA – getting boo’d would be the bare minimum 😭😭😭😭 welcome to sports,” another user replied.

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