On July 6, Skylar Diggins expressed her frustration after learning that the Chicago management had removed her as a starter after 19 games. Although the Sky didn’t explain the reasoning behind the move coincides with Courtney Vandersloot’s return and comes after Diggins’ statement about the team’s leadership and “loser mentality” last month.
“Now I’m coming off the bench?????? Cool,” Diggins said in the first of her two posts on social media on July 6.
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Later in the day, Skylar Diggins posted a video titled ‘To Whom It May Concern’ and said, “And the crazy part about it all is that … I’ve been so quiet. I’ve been so good and quiet.”
Between these two posts, the Chicago Sky star also spoke with the media about how she felt about the decision that she didn’t see coming.
“I’ve been putting my body on the line all year for this team. I’ve done everything that’s been asked of me. I’ve been great professionally. That’s the decision that’s made, and I gotta live with that,” she told the media during a shootaround ahead of their upcoming clash with the Phoenix Mercury.
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However, with Courtney Vandersloot’s return to the roster after recovering from an ACL, the Sky now have three veteran guards: Diggins, Vandersloot, and Natasha Cloud. And it looks like head coach Tyler Marsh may be looking to experiment as their team struggles at 6-14. In fact, Skylar Diggins had raised concerns long before they got to this point.
“We gotta have more maturity and more leadership on and off the floor… If it was just versus one team, I’d understand that, but now it’s been struggles. That’s a trend of ours. It’s disappointing. Really is. It’s frustrating,” Diggins said in June after their 7th loss against the Toronto Tempo.
“Like (Azurá) said, effort all around needs to go up, and we have to get out of that loser mentality that we have.”
Diggins is averaging 14.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 0.9 steals per game this season, while shooting 39.2 % from the field. She is clocking 29.1 minutes per game, which is second-highest on the team. Diggins also leads the team in assists and steals, and is third in scoring. So it’s not surprising that the 35-year-old feels blindsided.
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The Sky do have a history of disgruntled players and their ultimate exits. High-profile stars like Angel Reese, Kahleah Copper, and Marina Mabrey have previously voiced concerns about the team, leadership, and management as they exited the Chicago Sky.
However, for now, Chicago needs to start winning if they plan to salvage their season. We’ll have to wait and see whether removing Diggins from the starting line was the right move to make.
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The post “Been So Good and Quiet”: Skylar Diggins Voices Frustration as Sky Bench Her Weeks After Raising Concerns About Team’s Maturity, Leadership appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
