Mercury star Kahleah Copper blasts Indiana Fever fans for booing DeWanna Bonner

USA Today

5 days ago

Following Indiana's 107-101 victory over Phoenix in front of a raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd on Wednesday night, Mercury star guard Kahleah Copper ripped the actions of the Fever fans for relentlessly booing former Indiana star DeWanna Bonner throughout the game.
Bonner played just nine games with the Fever in the early portion of the 2025 season before requesting a trade, feeling out of place within the franchise's young core. Indiana subsequently waived her on June 25 after the Fever were unable to find a suitable trade partner for the 14-year veteran forward.
To seemingly nobody's surprise, Bonner was serenaded continuously throughout the game with boos and jeers whenever the veteran forward was mentioned or touched the basketball. Adding to the torment, Bonner struggled during her 21 minutes of playing time off the bench by scoring just four points on 1-for-4 from the field and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line.
Cooper, who is one of the more energetic scoring threats for the Mercury, labeled the Indiana fans' actions as "disrespectful" and "unnecessary," considering the impact Bonner has had on the league during her career.
"I just don't understand. Like, she's a legend. All the things she's done for the league, and just then the disrespect, I just 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," Copper said.
"It's just very distasteful what their fan base is doing when it comes to DB [DeWanna Bonner]. She is just the sweetest soul. The situation didn't work for her. It just wasn't what she wanted or whatever, but we don't need all of that. It's just unnecessary."
Despite a June 26 statement clarifying her abrupt decision to leave the Fever as "just not the right fit," Indiana fans did not buy into the veteran's explanation, especially after almost immediately rejoining a talented Phoenix squad that could be viewed as one of the top title contenders out of the WNBA's Western Conference.
Ironically, Bonner's departure allowed the Fever to recoup enough salary cap space to sign guard Aari McDonald for the remainder of the season.
In the ultimate karma moment for Fever fans, McDonald was seemingly unstoppable Wednesday night by posting a career-high 27 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3-point territory. The 5-foot-6 guard was also a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line during her 31 minutes of action.
The Fever and Mercury Will meet two more times this season, with both games taking place at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. With the first of those two remaining meetings occurring on Aug. 7, it will be very interesting to see how Mercury fans plan to get retribution on the Fever.
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