Grace and representation should not be optional
By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - After being eliminated from the WNBA playoffs in the first round, Storm coach Noelle Quinn spoke candidly with reporters and said she was on “borrowed time.”
“Going from 11 wins to 25 and playoffs feels successful,” Quinn said. “I’m such a competitor, though. I feel like I want more. I’m proud of our group. I’m proud of where we came from last season. It hasn’t been talked about a lot, so, thank you for acknowledging that. But I don’t need the acknowledgment. I’m just doing my job.”
Without franchise icons Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart guiding the team on the court, Jewell Loyd stood out as the sole star on the roster amidst a brutal 2023 campaign. In her first season as the sole team leader, the Storm finished with a record below .500 (11-29) for the first time since 2017, ending an eight-year streak of making the playoffs.
“I’m on borrowed time,” she continued. “So, I realize the importance of not wasting moments. I feel like big picture we had some success, but I think this group could’ve done more, and I feel responsible for that. We will continue to build from an unconventional rebuild to 25 wins is something that we will be proud of, but I’m not satisfied.”
Quinn stepped in as head coach in 2021 when Dan Hughes stepped down for health reasons. She took her team to the playoffs in three of four seasons since. Still, Quinn believes the definition of success may differ from most organizations for a franchise that is only one of three to win four WNBA championships in the league’s 27-year existence and two within the last six years.
She alluded to as much when clarifying her comments during exit interviews on Wednesday.
“Not only as a coach, but I think in life,” Quinn said. “Like you just never know. Not to talk about another player, but Tiffany Mitchell. We didn’t know what she was going through all season. For her to be healthy one day and unhealthy the next. Sorry, I’m getting emotional about it because that’s what I mean. We just never know when our time is up in life. Not only in a Seattle Storm coaching position or basketball player. Just in life. So, you have to approach what you do with a gusto about it. With a passion about it. With an understanding about it that it’s not given to you at all. And for me, yeah, I’m a head coach that despite a successful season to some might not be successful to others because of the expectation here.”
Connecticut Sun guard Tiffany Mitchell recently disclosed on Instagram that she overcame a battle with sepsis over the summer. Having sat out since mid-July with an undisclosed illness, as Quinn said, no one knew of her condition. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand how it would put life in perspective. Life isn’t promised.
“When I say I’m on borrowed time, I’m talking about my life in general. I might not be here tomorrow. This is why I go so hard. This is why I’m so grateful for an opportunity that a lot of people don’t get. When I say I’m on borrowed time, it is a sentiment that I hold in my heart because of the time that I have on this earth, I’m going to show people who I am. I am a positive light. I’m a hard worker, I will do my best for this organization. I have pride for this city. I have pride for this team. I have pride for my players. I have pride for my staff. I have pride for my family to show and give them what they’ve given me. Just a lot of love and support, I have pride in that. So, I don’t want to waste time. I don’t want to waste moments. I want to win. I want to show everybody I’m a winner and I want people to have that same sentiment.”
Quinn’s candid manner in speaking about how she wishes to impact those around her is nothing new. From all walks of her career, she’s left nothing but fond memories of displaying “truth in love is medicine” as she always says. Storm legend and two-time WNBA champion Alysha Clark confirmed as much on X in May.
Clark was responding to a tweet containing a video where Quinn vehemently defended Storm star point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith after being criticized for a slow start in her return from maternity leave, which lasted for 22-plus months. It's understandable that the six-time All-WNBA guard wouldn't immediately regain her previous form as soon as she stepped back on the court.
Displays of compassion in leadership like this played an integral role in signing Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike last offseason. That and the fact that Quinn is a Black woman, a former WNBA player, and has two Black women on her staff with resumes that speak for themselves in Pokey Chatman and Ebony Hoffman.
Photo one: Former Seattle Storm point guard Kiana Williams with Assistant Coach and Associate General Manager Pokey Chatman. Photo two: Seattle Storm shooting guard Sami Whitcomb sits with assistant coach Ebony Hoffman pregame. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Throughout the season, Diggins-Smith, Ogwumike, and Ezi Magbegor have explained how being represented has empowered them on and off the court, but Ogwumike had perhaps the strongest proclamation before play even began. During training camp, Ogwumike was asked how Seattle’s coaching staff played a role in her free agency decision.
“I think it needs to be normalized to be honest. Even just talking about it needs to be normalized a little bit. It’s just something that when I was on my visit that I didn’t have to say, but people got. It’s an unspoken thing that is intrinsic to our experience. And in no way is it exclusive.”
You don’t have to be a Black professional athlete to understand where Ogwumike is speaking from. As a community, Black Americans connect and relate like no other due to a rich, unique culture that can’t be replicated no matter how often it may be attempted. From a simple head nod that sparks a random conversation to seeing a highly accomplished Black woman as your head coach for the first time, the feeling of being seen and understood is incomparable.
Ogwumike reiterated Quinn and her staff’s role in joining the Storm during her exit interview on Wednesday.
“Deciding that I was going to leave LA was the biggest part of me making my decision. Then of course being more open to what other organizations could offer, and also being apart of franchises that want to lead the pack. And I obviously ended up in Seattle and I’m very grateful that I did. And ultimately really being in a new place but then also feeling very represented with the coaching staff. That’s something that I’ve have not ever experienced and they made me a a better player and professional for it. Especially being coached by a Black woman who played in this league who is being positioned by mostly women owners. That spoke to my ethos and I think it also speaks to the progress I hope to see within myself and also as part of an organization.”
The feeling of belonging is unrivaled. The sense of community by those who look like you only and want the best for you is a comforting, warm hug that most professional athletes go through their entire careers without ever experiencing. That’s the environment fostered by Quinn and her staff created in Seattle. Not only is she cognizant of the role she plays and the assortment of hats that come with it, Quinn takes it in stride and only wants to improve.
“I'm on assignment,” Quinn said. “It's very clear for me. My purpose in life is to be a light to others and I'm leading this group and showing my heart and trying to do that as a leader. Again, it's not solely about basketball, coaching basketball, playing basketball, I'm a real life human being and I have real life things happening to me. So, I stay grounded because of that. 1 of 3 Black women in this league, I don’t take it for granted at all because the opportunities come few and far between. This is why I work so hard. This is why I make sure that I’m tight with my preparation and everything I have to do to be the best version of me for this team because I don’t want to fumble.”
“I have a responsibility to lead in a way to set the tone and table for those who follow me. But I’m so grateful for everybody who came before me and Pokey [Chatman] is one those coaches that’s here in front of me everyday on my staff and just acknowledge the pioneers. I talk about it all the time, I stand on the shoulders of giants in this league. As a player and a coach, I do no take this job lightly. I strive everyday to be my best and I fail. I’m not always perfect. But at the end of the day, I’m willing to do whatever I need to do to invest and give my all to this because I’ve been given this amazing opportunity, so that’s where I’m at. I hope everybody sees that. I hope that my team feels that, the fans, the organization, the league because it’s important. I’m so proud to be apart of this league. I’ve watched it since I was a little kid. Now, kinda carrying this torch, I don’t take it lightly.”
When Quinn stepped up as head coach early in the 2021 season, she was only the second Black woman in a lead coaching position at the time, joining former Dallas Wings coach Vickie Johnson.
The Atlanta Dream then hired seven-time All-Defense recipient and WNBA champion Tanisha Wright the following offseason, which made her the most recent addition at three before Johnson’s contract wasn’t renewed after the 2022 season.
Last offseason, the Chicago Sky brought the total back to three by tapping five-time All-Star and back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year recipient Teresa Weatherspoon to lead the organization during a rebuild. The Sky later drafted rookie phenom Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso as the future cornerstones of the franchise. They also signed free agent guard Chennedy Carter, who turned out to be their best player, averaging a team-leading 17.5 points.
Throughout the season, Reese and Carter have spoken at length about Weatherspoon’s importance to them on and off the court.
"Just being able to have someone that understands me as a Black woman, that looks like me,” said Reese. “Who knows what I've been through and understands me from that perspective."
Reese also shared that Weatherspoon was the first Black woman to be her coach.
As for Carter, the rough beginning to her promising career is well-documented. Still, it only takes one person to get the most out of an athlete, but most importantly the person.
Weatherspoon was that for the Sky in a period of uncertainty for a franchise in flux.
“I’ve been in situations where I haven’t always been valued. Coaches haven’t always had my back. She has my back on and off the floor,” explained Carter after sharing a hug with Weatherspoon. “That brings out the best side of me. That brings out me as a person. Everyone is getting to know me. I love my teammates. I love being here. We’re building something special. I’m so thankful to be a part of something like this. Two years coming, I’m really thankful to be a part of something like this. I was literally crying in the car yesterday like, ‘God, I appreciate you so much for putting me where I belong.'”
Genuinely increasing representation in a league where over 70 percent of its players identify as Black women should be treated with the utmost importance. Unfortunately, time and time again WNBA ownership groups have shown they don’t share this sentiment.
The track record is as obvious as it is blatant. According to the International Journal of Sport Management, Black women are nearly 3.5 times as likely to be fired as white men. They are also less likely to be given a second chance in their profession as well.
On Thursday night, Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Chicago Sky had fired coach Teresa Weatherspoon after just one season. Weatherspoon had been the favorite from the start of an extensive hiring process less than a year before.
The team released a statement on Friday morning: "After careful consideration, we have decided it is in the best interest of the organization to part ways with head coach Teresa Weatherspoon," Sky co-owner Nadia Rawlinson said in a statement. "We are deeply appreciative of Coach TSpoon's contributions to the Chicago Sky, and the energy and passion she brought to the head coaching role. We thank her for inspiring a competitive, resilient spirit across the team, synonymous with Chicago Sky basketball."
“We remain steadfastly committed to being a playoff and championship contender every year, and we will be embarking on a thorough search for our next head coach.”
There are several glaring issues with this statement. The wording suggests that the Sky had a chance at making the playoffs and being a championship contender, which is unequivocally false. While it seemed the team had enough to make the postseason at one point, it didn’t.
As for the latter part of the last sentence, attempting to lay blame for not making the playoffs at the feet of a first-year coach considering the various obstacles to do so speaks to the continued lack of accountability and a moral compass from Sky ownership and the front office, no matter who sits in it.
Reese took to social media with a heartfelt response to the news on Thursday night: “I’m heartbroken,” Reese wrote. “I’m literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life. She was the only person that believed in me. The one that trusted me. Many don’t even know what it’s like to be a black women in sports when nobody believes in you”
Former Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon speaks with star rookie forward Angel Reese during a game in the 2024 WNBA season. (Photo by Kevin Jairaj - USA TODAY Sports)
“You had a tough job. All the crazy circumstances that we went through this year & when your back was against the wall, you always believed. I came to Chicago because of YOU. You were an unsung hero in my life. We built a relationship in a short amount of time that will last forever. I’ll never question God why he brings people in my life and takes them away from me in the capacity that I need them but I’ve always believed everyone is in your life for a reason and a season. You were the best reason & season. You didn’t deserve this but I can’t thank you enough. I love you Tspoon.”
Weatherspoon’s firing makes her the third coach in four years to leave the franchise. James Wade, who helped bring a championship to Wintrust Arena in 2021, stepped down less than two years later midway through the 2023 season for an assistant position with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors.
Former Sky assistant Emre Vantansever took over in the interim before Weatherspoon was brought in during the offseason. It’s important to note that WNBA All-Star and former Sky assistant Tonya Edwards was passed over for the position at the time.
With Weatherspoon at the front of the bench, the Sky entered a season that had as many ups as it did downs as injuries, illness, and poor roster construction played convincing roles in what was a thrilling, yet turbulent season from the onset.
Rounding out ESPN’s WNBA preseason rankings at dead last, there weren’t any expectations for Chicago to do much besides develop its two star rookies and continue to build on the foundation during a rebuilding year. When Weatherspoon took over, the Sky had little to no draft assets. From 2022 to the present day, star players Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, and Kahleah Copper left the organization due to a lack of investment from its ownership group.
Last offseason, Chicago struck out on Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith in free agency for the same reason, which ushered Copper's request for a trade less than a week later. That makes five All-Stars who either left or passed up the chance to play for the team. The issue was never Weatherspoon. All along Sky leadership has always been at the scene of its own demise.
Marina Mabrey requested a trade halfway through the 2024 season and stated the direction of the franchise and roster fit as reasons why. The Sky were able to recoup assets lost in a trade with the Dallas Wings that sent Mabrey to Chicago.
Despite finishing 10th in the WNBA with a 13-27 record and falling out of playoff contention after going 3-13 after the Mabrey trade, the Sky overachieved for more than half the season and defied expectations on and off the court despite numerous distractions on social media that affected the team as a whole.
Objectively, Chicago had a successful season during a rebuild by drafting two key rookies to establish an identity on the court, crafting a culture built through representation and tough love, and the developmental process that went into it.
But as Quinn said during her exit interview, a successful season to some may not be a successful season to others. It’s clear where the Sky fell.
In Quinn’s case, the Storm won 11 games last year and more than doubled its win total to 25 this season. Fully understanding the context of the last two years, it’s hard to see how the 2024 campaign could be seen as anything other than a success.
However, as Black women and head coaches in this league, Quinn, Wright, and Weatherspoon had to be twice as good to get half the recognition or respect they deserved.
Quinn may say that she doesn't need the praise for turning the team around in such a short period while infusing two All-Stars into the fold, but that doesn't mean she hasn’t earned the right to smell her flowers. The same goes for Weatherspoon and Wright who should be lifted in positivity, yet experienced anything but this season.
From the nature of Quinn’s comments to Weatherspoon’s rash firing one season into a rebuild, it’s clear that grace and representation are afterthoughts to those with the power to display it.
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