It has been nearly a week since Sandy Brondello’s “protected species” comment directed at Angel Reese sparked one of the WNBA’s biggest controversies of the season. While the Toronto Tempo coach has since issued a public apology and accepted a one-game suspension, the incident continues to generate discussion across the league.
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The latest to weigh in on the issue are Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston and WNBA legend Candace Parker, making it clear that certain comments simply have no place in the league, regardless of the intent behind them.
“Obviously I think in this country, especially in America, those remarks are considered racial slurs,” Parker said on Wednesday’s episode of Post Moves.
“Yeah, you can’t make those,” Boston responded simply and directly.
“I think this is something of setting a precedent of like racial slurs, derogatory remarks,” Parker added. “We’re not going to go for intent. We’re going to go for what actually was said and holding those people accountable.”
Brondello, in her explanation, stated that “protected species” is a common sports idiom in Australia, used to describe players who receive favorable treatment from referees. And in the context in which she used it, she believed Angel Reese had unfairly received one on the particular call that triggered her outburst on the sideline.
However, regardless of that context, and regardless of Brondello’s apology, which even coach Dawn Staley described as a genuine one, the league proceeded to issue a suspension without pay. That swift action, taken without factoring in intent, was something both Parker and Aliyah Boston found impressive on the league’s part. It sent a clear message that the consequence would follow the comment, not the explanation behind it.
But even as this particular situation appeared to resolve itself in the best possible way, that is, swift consequences, a sincere apology, and even Brondello’s stated intention of apologizing to Angel Reese, it is still difficult to shake the feeling that these kinds of controversies have become a regular feature of WNBA discourse. Week after week, the conversations keep circling back to something other than the basketball itself. And for Candace Parker, that weariness is very real.
“I really want to sit here and talk about step-back threes and what was the play of the week,” she said. “I don’t want to talk about this stuff.”
Well, perhaps the swift and decisive actions that have followed this specific incident are exactly the kinds of responses that will, over time, lead to a moment where these controversies eventually come to a very minimal level in the league. That is the hope, at least.