Chicago Sky players harassed outside team hotel: “Couldn’t even get off the bus”

Several Chicago Sky players reported being harassed outside the team hotel on Wednesday night. Star rookie Angel Reese said a teammate had a camera pointed in her face as she got off the bus.

“This is truly out of control and needs to stop,” Reese wrote on X.

Going to our team’s hotel and pointing a camera at my teammate’s face as she got off the bus and HARRASING her is a SHITTY THING. This is truly out of control and needs to STOP.

– Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) June 5, 2024

The Sky arrived in Washington DC on Thursday night before their game against the Washington Mystics. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the team was harassed by a man who was targeting Chennedy Carter, who gained national attention for her hard foul on Caitlin Clark in the Sky’s game against the Indiana Fever on Saturday. The WNBA later upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 1.

Sky striker Brianna Turner said she was not at the scene of the incident, but “the absurd headlines of late have certainly created an unstable environment for our safety.”

I wasn’t present at the interaction earlier, but what happened is unacceptable. I didn’t realize that our statement of “growing the game” would be interpreted as harassing players in hotels. You can have your own opinion, but think about what would have happened if this had happened to someone you know.

– Brianna Turner (@_Breezy_Briii) June 6, 2024

Turner and Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca thanked the team’s security for de-escalating the situation and separating the man from the players.

“Thank God there are security guards,” posted Sky striker Isabelle Harrison. “It’s crazy that my teammate is being harassed in our hotel. I couldn’t even get off the bus.”

WOW!!! Thank God there is security. The fact that my teammate was harassed in our hotel is crazy! I couldn’t even get off the bus!!!

– Isabelle Harrison (@OMG_itsizzyb) June 5, 2024

Carter’s hip check on Clark has been the subject of much controversy for a week, both within and outside the league. On Monday, Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon called Carter’s foul “inappropriate.” On Wednesday, Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana wrote a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert about the opponents’ treatment of Clark.

Banks also criticized Reese for cheering on Carter at the moment of the foul. On Tuesday, Reese said she has no problem taking on the role of “villain” in her years-long rivalry with Clark if it helps women’s basketball develop.

“I take on the role of the villain and I’m going to continue to do that and be that for my teammates,” Reese said. “And if I want to be that, I’m going to go down in history. I’m going to look back in 20 years and say, yeah, the reason we watch women’s basketball is not just one person. It’s because of me too. And I want you all to realize it’s not just one person.

“A lot of us have done so much for this game, and obviously Chennedy has been here before, but there are so many great players in this league that have deserved this for a really, really long time, and thankfully it’s coming now.”

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(Photo: Jeff Haynes / NBAE via Getty Images)