Wings Coach's Seeming Awak Kuier Disrespect Comes With Connection Context

An answer that Dallas Wings coach Jose Fernandez gave when speaking to the media after his team's loss to the Indiana Fever on Friday night is raising eyebrows.

A reporter asked Fernandez, "I was just wondering what you thought of Awak [Kuier's] effort and contribution over the last couple games?"

Fernandez paused for seven seconds, turned to the person next to him, and said, "Did she ask about Awak?"

When he got confirmation of this, he nodded his head, paused for another seven seconds, and said, "'She's got a good opportunity to go to Golden State, and rebound, and defend, and protect the basket."

This response went viral, as it initially seemed that Fernandez was frustrated with Kuier's effort and contribution, and his response seemed to disrespect her effort.

uh so ??? wtf did Awak do to deserve this kind of response out of him? pic.twitter.com/Yb22xZIPmT
— jas (@awomaninsports) August 15, 2026

This response seemed especially strange considering that Kuier had a great game. She finished with eight points, six rebounds, four assists, and three blocks, all of which are better than her season averages. Plus, she set the Wings' franchise record for blocks in a single quarter.

But it seems that a crucial element of this press conference has been overlooked when assessing Fernandez's comment, which Nekias Duncan highlighted in an X post.

"(Will just add, as someone that was on the Zoom, the connection was awful throughout so I don’t think he heard the question. Also expressed frustration from the get-go w the team’s defense. I think he was trying to reiterate that overall message vs, like, being cold to Awak.)," Duncan wrote.

(Will just add, as someone that was on the Zoom, the connection was awful throughout so I don’t think he heard the question. Also expressed frustration from the get-go w the team’s defense. I think he was trying to reiterate that overall message vs, like, being cold to Awak.) https://t.co/f7GCmC7zeE
— Nekias (Nuh-KAI-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) August 15, 2026

In this context, what initially seemed like clear disrespect for Kuier now seems to be nothing more than Fernandez not hearing the question (because of the awful connection) and then just coming up with some generic, dismissive response to keep the press conference moving.

Jose Fernandez's Typical Candor Doesn't Include Disrespect

Fernandez has quickly endeared himself to women's basketball fans because of his frank manner when speaking to the media. He's not afraid to call his team out and doesn't sugarcoat his frustration when that's how he's feeling. And he clearly wasn't in a jovial mood after his team's defeat to Indiana.

But this instance seems out of the ordinary, especially given that Kuier was one of his better players on Friday night.

Fans are within their rights to feel any way about Fernandez's response, and perhaps he'll be asked about it in the future. In the meantime, it seems likely that his answer about Kuier was because of a bad connection—but not the bad connection fans might initially think.

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