WASHINGTON — The Sky were confronted by a man as they arrived at their team hotel Wednesday afternoon.
The man later uploaded a video to X, condensing the exchange to less than a minute. Before Thursday morning, it had been deleted, but not before it had been copied by other X users and reshared.
What the video doesn’t show is the man hurling expletives at Sky players.
Forward Michaela Onyenwere shared on X that players were called “Ghetto b------” and told “Women’s sports ain’t s---.” Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca confirmed Onyenwere’s account. Pagliocca said the man made other comments but declined to share specifics.
The man targeted Sky guard Chennedy Carter specifically. In the video, he could be heard repeatedly asking her if she had reached out to Fever guard Caitlin Clark before one of the Sky’s security guards stepped in between them.
“I was a little bit caught off guard,” Carter said before the Sky’s 79-71 victory against the Mystics on Thursday. “Getting off the bus, ready to go to my room and get food, I don’t think anybody should be able to hold a camera right there. I was thankful that I had our team security.”
The man’s presence at the Sky’s team hotel, where he wasn’t a guest, follows a week of vitriolic discourse over the Flagrant 1 foul Carter was assessed retroactively. She initially received an off-the-ball common foul for body-checking Clark as she waited for the ball to be inbounded Saturday.
Rookie Angel Reese said that the team had not experienced anything similar to Wednesday’s encounter before. Reese said she has been approached by TMZ reporters in the past but described this experience as being much different.
“Being harassed about other players is kind of crazy,” Reese said. “Maybe if it’s personal questions about you, maybe cool. But if you’re harassing us about other players, I mean, that’s kind of out of pocket.”
Asked before the game if there was anything else said to the team aside from what was shared on the video, Reese said that was yesterday and the team is focused on today.
Coach Teresa Weatherspoon echoed those sentiments but added that the team feels fully protected by its security detail.
“We’re trying to just focus in on us,” Weatherspoon said. “We have no control over that, but our security was absolutely wonderful.”
Sixth player of the year?
Entering Thursday, Carter was the Sky’s second-leading scorer, averaging 12.5 points per game and shooting 51.8% from the field coming off the bench. She finished with 25 points against the Mystics for her eighth consecutive game scoring in double figures.
“I think everybody pays attention to what she brings the moment she comes in,” Weatherspoon said. “It’s immediate energy. She’s electric.”
This and that
- Elizabeth Williams’ one block Tuesday against the Liberty moved her into 10th place on the WNBA’s all-time list with 445. She’s averaging two blocks per game.
- Sky assistant coach Crystal Robinson spent the final two seasons of her nine-year career with the Mystics in 2006 and 2007.
- The Mystics moved Thursday’s game from Entertainment and Sports Arena to Capital One Arena to accommodate more fans. The attendance total was 10,000.
