July 18 (Reuters) – Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello was suspended by the WNBA without pay for one game on Saturday for an “inappropriate comment” she made during Friday’s game against the Atlanta Dream.
“The WNBA expects all coaches and team personnel to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and respect that are fundamental to our league,” the WNBA said in a statement on Saturday.
During the Dream’s 111-92 win, the broadcast picked up Brondello addressing the officials after Tempo player Nyara Sabally went down with an injury following contact with Angel Reese. Sabally was called for the foul and the Tempo coach could be heard saying what sounded like, “Angel, she’s a protected species.”
Reese responded after the game on social media, posting, “ARE WE SURPRISED?! @SBrondello” with a clown face emoji.
Brondello is from Australia, where the term “protected species” is used in sports to express frustration for a lack of calls against a certain player.
But in the U.S., referring to a human as a “species” could be seen as derogatory toward Black people.
Brondello apologized to Reese on social media on Saturday, saying she regretted that her words “caused hurt to a community I respect so deeply.”
“Angel, I’m sorry. Last night, in the emotion of the moment after Nyara’s injury, I used a phrase that I shouldn’t have used, and I take full responsibility for that,” Brondello wrote on X. “My frustration was with the officiating, but my words unfairly put the focus on you.
“I also understand that my words carried an impact beyond what I intended, particularly for Black women in our league, and I’m deeply sorry for that. I’ve spent my career competing with, coaching and learning from incredible Black women.”
Brondello, a two-times WNBA champion coach who is in her first season with the Tempo, will miss Monday’s game against the Las Vegas Aces.
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
