Indiana reporter Scott Agness says treatment from Pacers and Fever is “a little like bullying”

Independent reporter Scott Agness doesn’t think he would be getting shut out by the Indiana Pacers and Fever if he had ESPN or the Indianapolis Star attached to his name with an editor overseeing his work. If he was at one of those spots, he would have the backing of an editor to handle what he describes as “a little like bullying.” He is the man serving the public with continuous coverage and that will not change despite being persona non grata.

Agness, is from Indiana, and was on the scene as far back as 2012. He reported in his Substack newsletter, Fieldhouse Files, on Tuesday about the situation, which first started with the Pacers limiting his access for the 2023-24 season before severing it completely after the All-Star weekend in Indiana. The Fever PR team recently took his credential over a dispute about the reporting of Caitlin Clark’s “strategic management plan.” Agness was notified of his standing by email and says there had never been any issue between he and the PR team.

The NBA changed its accessibility rules during the pandemic by creating a tier system for credentialed reporters. Agness was placed in the lower tier. He told Five Reasons Sports Network over the phone, “That negatively impacted me because I got placed in Tier Two because [of] running my own site. There’s like four or five different items of criteria. I covered all of them, the only thing that they did not like is that I run my own business, I did not have an editor. Editorial structure was the word.”

He says access was normal before that which meant full access. In the WNBA, they do not allow media inside locker rooms, so reporters are limited to press conferences, shoot-arounds and practice media availability. 

In regards to the locker room access, Agness said, “I think for us reporters the biggest thing is it takes away the ability to make observations. Like you see in March Madness, you can see the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, whether it’s a team celebrating together, a couple of players in the corner watching film, or the other way: a player frustrated with their performance with a towel over their head. That is great color that I think you can share with fans.”

Not being in those spaces denies the opportunity to talk to a handful of other players. Doing so benefits the public, and as a result creates more interest in the league. 

When Agness was still around the Pacers, one of his go-tos in the locker room was talking to the last few players on the bench. “They have a really good feel about where the team is at, what’s going on and why things are working,” Agness said.

In those days, David Benner was in charge of the Pacers’ PR team. He died in 2023, and was replaced. Agness never had much of a working relationship with the new chief before he took over and explains in his Tuesday report about his emails not being responded to. Agness just wants a fresh start.

Also in his report, he wrote that Pacers PR said he parked in the media parking lot when he wasn’t supposed to. He told FRSN they never provided proof of the accusation, which was used as justification for taking his credential, and that he said it felt “like an excuse they are looking for. That feels like a jail sentence for what should be a parking ticket.”

Agness has tried to handle the situation with the Pacers through back channels, but couldn’t remain silent after the Fever barred him. It hasn’t been easy because helping fans connect with the teams is what he loves to do, and he has described the situation as frustrating in a separate interview he did with Caroline Fenton and Coley Harvey of Yahoo Sports.  

After Agness’ report, there was mass outpouring of journalists coming out in support of him, posting on X (formerly Twitter). He posted, “I want to thank everyone for the support over the last few days. I know many of you have been asking, but I don’t have an update to share. The work continues. The Fever are back in action tonight, and I’ll keep doing the work and showing up.”

It’s unclear when or if he’ll get his credentials back.