Chicago Sky players harassed outside team hotel: 'Couldn't get off bus'

Several Chicago Sky players shared their accounts of being harassed outside the team hotel Wednesday night, with star rookie Angel Reese saying a teammate held a camera in his face while getting off the bus.

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

Our teams found the hotel to pull with the camera as we got off the bus and put it on my teammates face to harass her. This is really out of control and needs to stop.

— Angel Reese (@reese10angel) June 5, 2024

The Sky arrived in Washington DC ahead of their game against the Washington Mystics on Thursday night. According to the Chicago Sun-Times , Sennady Carter, who received nationwide attention for abusing Caitlin Clark in the Skys’ game against the Indiana Fever on Saturday, was harassed by a teammate. The WNBA later upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 1.

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

I was not present for the previous conversation, but what happened was unacceptable. We don’t realize that if we say “grow the game”, it can be construed as harassing the players in the hotels. You may have your own opinion, but consider if this has happened to someone you know.

— Briana Turner (@_Breezy_Briii) June 6, 2024

Turner and Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca credited the team’s defense

“Thank God for the safety,” Sky forward Isabelle Harrison posted. “It’s crazy that my teammate is being harassed in our hotel. Couldn’t even get off the bus.

Wow!!! Thank God for protection. It’s crazy that my teammate is being harassed in our hotel! Couldn’t get off the bus!!!

— Isabel Harrison (@OMG_itsizzyb) June 5, 2024

Carter’s hip check on Clark has sparked a week of attention from inside and outside the league. On Monday, Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon said Carter’s foul was “not appropriate.” On Wednesday, an Indiana congressman, Jim Banks, wrote a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert about the treatment of Clarke by opponents.

Banks also called Reese to cheer Carter on at the moment of the mistake. On Tuesday, Reese said it’s okay to be a “bad boy” in her years-long rivalry with Clark if it helps grow women’s basketball.

“I’ll take the bad guy role and I’ll continue to take it and be there for my teammates,” Reese said. “I know if I want to be like that, I’m going to go down in history. I’m going to look back in 20 years and say, yes, one person isn’t the reason we’re seeing women’s basketball. I’m the reason. I want you all to realize that it’s not just one person.

“A lot of us have done a lot for this game and Sennedy has been here before, but there are a lot of great players in this league who have really deserved it for a long time and luckily it’s coming now.”