Betnijah Laney-Hamilton did not finish the New York Liberty’s 93-91 loss to the Toronto Tempo after being ejected for throwing a shoe.
Laney-Hamilton exited the matchup at the 1:48 mark of the fourth quarter following a play where teammate Sabrina Ionescu drew a charge. As the play was stopped for review, Laney-Hamilton threw a shoe that Jonquel Jones had lost moments before. The shoe hit Tempo guard Marina Mabrey in the back.
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After further review, Laney-Hamilton was assessed a technical foul for throwing a “projectile onto the court” and was ejected from the game. The technical was her second of the matchup, warranting the automatic ejection. Mabrey shot the technical free throw after Laney-Hamilton left the court, putting Toronto up two.
“I’ve never seen anything like that. We had all the momentum in the world. A shoe hit somebody. Ejected, free throws. I’ve also never seen a ref make such an atrocious call when he’s on the other side of the floor,” Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco said postgame.”The ball is clearly off the defender and (the referee) comes over and overturns and gives the ball back to the Tempo. Then again, I’ve never seen one of the best players to ever play in this league attack the rim and get fouled, and absolutely no call. Atrocious, pathetic. It was pathetic.”
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A postgame pool report confirmed that Laney-Hamilton was ejected for throwing the shoe.
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“Betnijah Laney picked up a shoe and threw it at Marina Mabrey, and it hit Marina in the back, so she received her second technical foul and subsequently was ejected from the basketball game,” referee Kevin Fahy said.
Laney-Hamilton’s ejection came at the end of a tension-filled matchup for the forward. She also picked up a technical foul at the 3:19 mark of the third quarter after a dustup with Mabrey. Mabrey pushed Laney-Hamilton to the floor, and both players, who had been chippy throughout the game, were assessed technical fouls.
Additionally, Laney-Hamilton picked up a flagrant-1 foul at the 2:08 mark of the second quarter. She and Mabrey were on the court, in a scramble to collect a loose basketball. During the push to get the ball, the Liberty forward’s arm made contact with the Tempo guard’s face. Postgame, Mabrey and Laney-Hamilton both addressed the shoe incident. Mabrey told on-site media she didn’t think Laney-Hamilton threw it on purpose. Laney-Hamilton appeared to confirm that notion.
“I would never intentionally try to hit someone with a shoe, especially while they’re not looking. The teammate was without a (shoe), so I did my best to try and get it to her. Unfortunately, it did hit someone,” Laney-Hamilton said.
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“I know just by the way that things were going throughout the game that it can look a certain way, but that’s just not something that I would personally do… especially in a moment like that where (the) game is on the line.”
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Jul 12, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey (3) reacts and New York Liberty guard-forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (44) reaches for the ball during the first half at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Liberty’s Betnijah Laney-Hamilton ejected after bizarre shoe-throwing incident
