Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White’s relationship with a prominent NBA sideline reporter has caused a stir after it emerged that the couple have stepped back from their jobs amid personal issues.
White, who has coached Caitlin Clark and co. since the beginning of the WNBA season, missed the Fever’s game against the Chicago Sky on Saturday.
Just a day later, her absence was followed by Lisa Salters’ notable omission from ABC/ESPN’s broadcast coverage of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s blowout Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals.
Their absences caught fans’ attention social media with light being shone on their relationship once again.
White and Salters have been romantically involved since at least 2016, according to multiple reports.
The longtime partners raise a blended family, sharing four sons – White’s three biological children, Landon, 13, and twins Aiden and Avery, 11, from a previous marriage, and Salters’ adopted son, Samuel, 11.
However, despite their lengthy relationship, some social media users were stunned to learn of their romance.
‘Learning Lisa Salters is actually in a relationship to Stephanie White was kinda mind blowing for me,’ one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Meanwhile, another asked: ‘Lisa Salters is married to Stephanie White? #ThingsImjustfindingout.’
The couple reportedly stepped away from their respective roles as Salters’ mother battles a health issue.
ABC/ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Breen announced the news as he issued a touching message to the sideline reporter and her mother Sunday night.
‘We are thinking of our dear friend and colleague, Lisa Salters,’ the Hall-of-Fame announcer said during the Thunder’s Game 2 win over the visiting Pacers on Sunday in Oklahoma City.
‘Lisa’s mom has been dealing with some serious health issues for a while now, so we want to send our love to Lisa and her mom.
‘Although we’ve never met her mom, we owe her a debt of gratitude for giving us the gift of Lisa Salters, who is the teammate everyone in our business should strive to have,’ Breen added.
Jorge Sedano, who typically works for ESPN radio, stepped up to fill in for Salters’ duties for Game 2 of the Finals.
Salters has been a tremendous asset for WBAL-TV in Baltimore and ESPN, covering everything from the OJ Simpson murder trial to Olympic and World Cup coverage. But it’s in the NBA where she’s become most recognized.
She joined ESPN in 2000 as a general assignment reporter and switched to the network’s NBA coverage in 2005.
A native of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Salters played basketball at Penn State, where she also got her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.
Meanwhile, White missed practice for personal reasons on Friday and didn’t make the trip to Chicago with the Fever.
Assistant coach Austin Kelly served as head coach in her absence, with assistants Karima Christmas-Kelly and Briann January stepping into bigger roles.
‘I really want to win for Steph, she’s going through a tough time with her family right now,’ Fever star DeWanna Bonner said before Saturday night’s win, via the IndyStar.
‘We want to rally together and get this one for her, but it’s also Austin’s first time at the helm, so it’s double-duty right now.’
