Before the Las Vegas Aces won Monday’s matchup against the Toronto Tempo, Aces head coach Becky Hammon found herself in the spotlight as she commented on the Sandy Brondello situation. Toronto was desperate to snap its skid, while A’ja Wilson and the Aces were chasing another important win. But before the opening tip, the focus shifted from basketball to Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello, who was serving a one-game suspension following her remarks about Angel Reese.

Naturally, the topic came up during Hammon’s pregame press conference. The Aces head coach didn’t shy away from it, instead offering her support for Brondello as per an X post by HoopThereItIs_. 

“I just gave her a big hug when I saw her. I know that’s not where her heart is. I know her [Brondello] as a very, very high-quality person, someone that’s filled with a lot of love for everyone…She’ll bounce back. I know she’s resilient.”

Hammon, who played for the San Antonio Silver Stars between 2007 and 2014, was coached by Brondello both as assistant head coach and head coach. Both have faced each other as HCs during the 2023 WNBA Finals, when Hammon’s Aces won the championship over Brondello’s New York Liberty. Hammon expressed disappointment that the conversation had drifted away from the game itself while speaking to the media per the video on X by HoopThereItIs_. 

“It’s just unfortunate. I mean, everything that’s kind of going around the league. I’d like to get back to sports uniting people,” Hammon added. 

What led Becky Hammon to call for basketball to “unite people” again was the situation from Friday, July 17. The Toronto Tempo suffered a 111-92 loss to the Atlanta Dream, but what made headlines was Brondello’s comment. During the game, an emotional Brondello reacted after Tempo forward Nyara Sabally was injured on a play involving Dream forward Angel Reese. While arguing with the officials, Brondello referred to Reese as a “protected species” drawing widespread criticism.

The controversy escalated the following day when Reese reposted a fan’s message on X.

“ARE WE SURPRISED?! @SBrondello 🤡.”

Soon after, the league suspended Brondello, ruling her out of Toronto’s game against the Las Vegas Aces on Monday. Brondello later addressed the incident after practice on Sunday with reporters and apologized publicly. 

“Have a ton of respect for her [Reese], but I wanted to make sure that [she knows] it was an emotional statement. It’s a statement that’s very common in Australia; it wasn’t directed at Angel. I’d never do that to any kind of player. That’s not the kind of coach I am or player back in my day. It was just unfortunate. I was pretty emotional with Nyara, her being injured again. I made a comment that Australians, we say all the time.” 

Brondello’s comment about “protected species”, she states, is referring to common Australian terminology for a player who is favored by the officials. But the criticism came due to the racial undertones of the statement. In a sport shared equally by players from all racial backgrounds, such comments tend to cause discontent.  Brondello also acknowledged the broader context behind the reaction.

“Unfortunately, I should have took a breath and realized where I am in America because I know racism is such a big issue here. I’ve been in this league for 27 years and, obviously, I never had any issues like this because these are all my teammates and I’ve learnt so much from the Black players that I’ve coached and that I’ve had on staff.” 

Notably, Brondello’s résumé spans more than three decades in professional basketball, including 12 years as a player and 21 years as a coach across Australia and the United States. Despite that long career, this marked the first major controversy of its kind involving the Queensland native. Even after her apology, however, the story didn’t end there, as Angel Reese soon weighed in herself. 

Angel Reese accepts Sandy Brondello’s apology 

After the situation gained widespread attention, Sandy Brondello’s apology was acknowledged by Angel Reese herself. Speaking before Sunday’s game between the Atlanta Dream and the Chicago Sky, the Sky forward spoke to the media per a video by ClutchPoints reporter Malik Brown.  

“First, I appreciate Sandy’s apology, but I also appreciate the love and support that I’ve had for the last 48 hours. It has been very overwhelming with a lot of love and also other things. But I am grateful that the league did take action.” 

Reese also made it clear where she stands moving forward. 

“There is no place for discrimination or hate in this league from anyone – from fans to coaches to players. And I’m just grateful that we are able to move on from the situation and just play winning basketball.”

However, when Reese welcomed the league’s decision, Brondello received support from several members of the basketball community who argued that her remark had been misunderstood. 

ESPN basketball insider Olgun Uluc, who is Australian, defended the Tempo coach on X.

“This feels like such an overreaction to the most obvious cultural misinterpretation. Sandy Brondello referred to Angel Reese as a “protected species”, which is widely used in Australian sport to describe a player/team that seemingly receives preferential treatment from referees.” 

Uluc went a step further, criticizing the league’s decision.

“There’s never been any racial element to that phrase, Brondello showed grace and apologized anyway, and was still suspended. An unserious outcome and a wild precedent.” 

So, with opinions split across the basketball world, the debate continues. But one thing became clear ahead of Monday’s game: Brondello was no longer standing alone. Along with support from fellow Australian voices, she also had public backing from Aces head coach Becky Hammon, who urged the league to move past the controversy and let the focus return to basketball.