Angel Reese Blasts Toronto Tempo Coach Sandy Brondello After Fans Claim Racism

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Angel Reese had a stellar performance during last night’s Atlanta Dream win over the Toronto Tempo.

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Scoring 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting and recording 12 rebounds, Reese’s performance was quickly overshadowed by a comment made by the Tempo’s head coach, Sandy Brondello.

On social media, Angel Reese called Brondello out by tagging her in a post and adding a clown-face emoji, clearly implying that she took issue with Brondello’s words.

Angel Reese Blasts Toronto Tempo Head Coach Sandy Brondello After The Latter Calls Her A ‘Protected Species’

Toward the end of the game, the Tempo’s Nyara Sabally fouled Reese, sending the latter to the charity stripe. Amid the play, Sabally caught a shoulder to her rib, sending her to the ground, wincing in pain. She wound up exiting the contest early.

The foul on Sabally clearly rubbed Brondello the wrong way, because after the call, microphones captured the former New York Liberty head coach calling Reese, 24, a “protected species,” a comment many believed had racial undertones.

The moment went viral online after a user posted the clip and said Brondello was “out of line.” Now, Brondello did receive some support, as many users rushed to explain that the term is Australian slang for a player favored by officials. However, those who have been watching Reese’s career over the last three years know that claim couldn’t be further from the truth.

Angel Reese Calls Out Brondello On Social Media With A Bold Post

Reese caught wind of what Brondello said and voiced her opinion on the matter on her social media account. Replying to a fan who said, “Calling a Black woman a species…” Reese added, “ARE WE SURPRISED?!”

But that’s not all. Reese, known for her bold demeanor and unapologetic attitude, tagged Brondello’s official X account and even added a clown-face emoji.

Users quickly defended Reese, with one demanding the Toronto Tempo organization issue an apology, adding that Brondello’s comment was “despicable.” Another user said, “Yeah, that was straight bullsh-t.”

On Reddit, other users also rushed to Reese’s defense, saying that it’s not up to anyone else to tell the Atlanta Dream star how she should feel about the coach’s comments.

“You don’t have to be a racist to say/do some racist stuff. Intent is not all that matters. Plus, it’s not up to others to tell Angel how she should feel about Sandy’s comments,” someone wrote, while another said, “Black people have been dehumanized for centuries and for the life of me, I can’t understand why white people find it so difficult to acknowledge and accept that.”

Brondello Spoke Highly Of Angel Reese Before The Game

It’s unclear whether Brondello has heard the noise about her comments yet, but if she hasn’t, she might be surprised, given that she spoke highly of Reese before the game.

“Angel is just so crafty. Her ability to anticipate where the ball’s coming in and her positioning to get offensive rebounds and putbacks is elite. That’s why she’s so good at what she does. I think she’s improved her moves off the dribble. They put her in face-ups too, and she’s attacking it,” Brondello said about the WNBA superstar.

Conversations About Race In The WNBA Are Continuing To Happen

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Brondello’s statement about Reese couldn’t come at a more inopportune time, given that Las Vegas Aces star Chelsea Gray recently blasted the league for failing to protect its players from racism and online harassment. According to The Blast, she was called a “n—er” following a game versus the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark.

“The Aces organization unequivocally condemns the hateful and racist messages recently directed at Chelsea Gray,” the Las Vegas-based team wrote online. “We do not tolerate hate speech of any type, whether it’s online, in the arena, or anywhere within our community.”

The WNBA echoed the team’s message, saying, “The WNBA fully supports the Las Vegas Aces’ statement and stands with Chelsea and every member of our league. We unequivocally condemn racism and all forms of hate.”

However, for some, that wasn’t enough. Chicago Sky player Natasha Cloud said the league’s efforts to combat what’s been happening barely scratch the surface. “Now I think it demands [Cathy Engelbert] to actually take some initiative and to do something about it. I don’t know what it is that she’s going to do, but I also think that simple statements of not condoning s**t is also really good for public relations as well,” she said.

A Similar Situation Occurred In The MLB

The situation between Reese and Brondello isn’t new in sports.

Most recently, Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli faced criticism and allegations of racism after he was heard telling Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox to “sit down, boy” after striking him out.

According to the Associated Press, the term “boy” has a racist history in the US, and Contreras, who is Venezuelan, was offended by the phrase.

The Nationals suspended Cavalli for five games, but before that, he expressed regret over how his comments were perceived.

“I couldn’t sleep because of it. It hurt my heart, knowing that, if there’s a 13-year-old Black kid in D.C. that sees that — that looked up to me and thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasn’t intended the way that it came out, and then he’s not looking up to me anymore — that hurts my heart,” he said.

The Angel Reese Blasts Toronto Tempo Coach Sandy Brondello After Fans Claim Racism first appeared on The Blast

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