Angel Reese thanked WNBA and Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello on Saturday after Brondello apologized for what the league called an “inappropriate comment” about the Atlanta Dream star.
Brondello was given a one-game suspension for her comments during the Dream’s 112-92 win over Tempo on Friday.
“First of all, I appreciate Sandy’s apology, but I also appreciate the love and support I’ve had over the last 48 hours,” Reese said. “It was very overwhelming, a lot of love and so much more. But I’m grateful the league took action.”
“There is no place for discrimination or hatred from anyone in this league, from fans to coaches to players. And I’m just grateful that we can come out of this situation and just play winning basketball.”
“The WNBA has to be positive and we’re going in a great place right now, so I just want to keep it up and move forward.”
Addressing officials after Nyara Sabally went down with an injury after contact with Reese on Friday, Brondello could be heard referring to Reese with the phrase “protected view.” Saballi was punished for the violation.
After the game, Reese wrote to X: “ARE WE SURPRISED?! @SBrondello” with a clown face emoji.
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Brondello apologized to Reese on Saturday on X and said on Sunday that she contacted Dream general manager Dan Padover after the game to reach out to Reese.
“Have a lot of respect for her, but I wanted to make sure (she knew) it was an emotional statement,” Brondello said. “This statement is very common in Australia, it was not addressed to Angel. I would never do that to any player. I am not the same coach or player in my day.
“Unfortunately, I should have taken a breath and realized where I am in America because I know racism is such a big problem here. “I’ve been playing in this league for 27 years and obviously I’ve never had problems like this because these are all my teammates and I’ve learned a lot from the black players that I’ve coached and had on my staff.”
Brondello is originally from Australia and has been coaching the national team since 2017. Many Indigenous Australians explained to ESPN that the phrase “protected species” is used in the Australian sporting environment to express frustration over the lack of allegations against a player, such as when a player is treated or treated differently from others.
However, in American culture, the phrase indicating that someone is not human has a history of being derogatory towards black people.
Brondello must serve her suspension on Monday when the Tempo host the Las Vegas A’s. In announcing the suspension, the league said it expected all players and staff to “uphold the highest standards of professionalism and respect.”
“I know I’m not racist, so it’s a really unfortunate situation,” Brondello said. “So, I wanted to apologize when Angel was ready. I contacted their organization. Very sincere because I never want this to happen to anyone. There’s so much going on in this WNBA, and I was angry at myself because I’m part of the solution, not the problem.”
“I hope I can talk and she gets to know me and my heart. I think everyone else I’ve coached in this league knows that and what I do. I will try to improve as I move forward. I made a mistake and will try to hide my Australianness, I suppose.
Reese has been a polarizing figure since joining the league in 2024 and has had to deal with plenty of vitriol from online commentators. She is scheduled to play in her third All-Star Game next week but left Sunday’s game against Chicago with an unspecified leg injury.
Before Sunday, she said it was important for her to stand up and use her platform.
“It’s important for you to use your voice and advocate,” Reese said. “Sometimes when you don’t use your voice, people think you don’t matter and you can just slap things in the face. But when you speak out about things, address things directly, I think it’s important to bring about change. And if you want change, you have to talk about it. You don’t let things just slip away.”