Angel Reese took time ahead of the Atlanta Dream’s 93-91 win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday to thank the WNBA and Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello for the steps taken after Brondello called Reese a “protected species” in the Dream’s win over the Tempo on Friday night.
Brondello apologized Saturday morning, and the league subsequently suspended her without pay for what it deemed an “inappropriate comment” directed at Reese.
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“First, I appreciate Sandy’s apology, but I also appreciate the love and support that I’ve had for the last 48 hours,” Reese said. “It has been very overwhelming. A lot of love, and also other things. I am grateful that the league did take action…
“There is no place for discrimination or hate in this league from anyone — from fans to coaches to players. I’m just grateful that we are able to move on from the situation and just play winning basketball. The WNBA is supposed to be positive, and we are going in a great light right now, so I just want to continue that and move forward.”
Tempo forward Nyara Sabally was called for a defensive foul on Reese in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game, but was injured on the play. While Sabally was on the floor receiving medical attention, Brondello yelled at official Toni Patillo, “Angel, she’s a protected species.”
Reese shared a post on X detailing Brondello’s comments and said “Are we surprised?!” accompanied by a clown emoji and tagged Brondello’s account.
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Brondello shared an apology to Reese on X and on Instagram on Saturday. On Sunday, she told media members she reached out to Dream general manager Dan Pandover immediately after the game to attempt to get in touch with Reese.
“I have a ton of respect for her,” Brondello said. “It was an emotional statement. It’s a statement that’s very common in Australia. It wasn’t directed at Angel. I’d never do that to any kind of player. That’s not the kind of coach I am or a player back in my day. It was just unfortunate. I was pretty emotional with Nyara being injured again.”
“I made a comment that Australians, we say all the time and unfortunately I should have taken a breath and realized where I am in America because I know racism is such a big issue here. I’ve been in this league for 27 years. Obviously, I’ve never had any issues like this because these are all my teammates and I’ve learned so much from the Black players that I coached, that I’ve had on staff and I know I’m not racist.”
Brondello continued to say she’d welcome an opportunity to speak to Reese when she’s ready.
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The term “protected species” has been used in Australian sports to describe athletes who receive favorable whistles from officials. Brondello, who is from Australia, has been the Opals coach since 2017. The two-time WNBA championship-winning coach will serve her suspension Monday when the Tempo host the Las Vegas Aces. Tempo associate head coach and Brondello’s husband, Olaf Lange, will serve as head coach in her absence.
“I never want that to happen to anyone,” Brondello said. “It’s so much in this WNBA. I felt mad at myself because I’m part of the solution, not the problem. Hopefully, I can have that chat and she gets to know me and my heart. Everyone else that I’ve coached in this league they know that and what I’m about. I’ll try to be better as I move forward. I did make a mistake, and I’ll try to keep my Australianisms out. But it was never meant to be personal. I’m truly sorry. Hopefully she’s doing OK.”
Reese had eight points and five rebounds on 3-for-13 shooting in the Dream’s win over the Sky on Sunday. She exited the game in the third quarter with a left leg injury and did not return.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Atlanta Dream, Toronto Tempo, WNBA
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