Security steps in between man, Sky's Carter
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Alexa Philippou, ESPN
The Chicago Sky were met by a man with a camera as they arrived Wednesday at their team hotel in Washington, D.C., ahead of their Thursday tilt against the Mystics.
Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca confirmed to ESPN that the man was trying to approach Chennedy Carter, whose flagrant foul against Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark on Saturday has been the subject of widespread debate over the past several days.
Pagliocca said that team security de-escalated the encounter, and police weren’t called.
A video of the incident was posted on X on Wednesday night but was later deleted. Sky forward Michaela Onyenwere wrote in a post on X that the video was edited and didn’t include the man directing racist and misogynistic remarks at the players.
Several other Sky players posted on X about the incident.
“WOW!!! Thank GOD for security,” forward Isabelle Harrison posted. “My teammate being harassed at our hotel is insane! Couldn’t even step off the bus!!!”
Harrison on Thursday said the team was “trying to handle a lot of it in-house” and taking extra precautionary measures so “everyone feels safe,” with teammate Lindsay Allen adding there is a “heightened” security presence over the past week.
Forward Angel Reese also posted to X on Wednesday night: “finding out our teams hotel to pull with a camera as we get off the bus and put it in my teammates face & HARASS her is NASTY WORK. this really is outta control and needs to STOP.”
“We have security, and they did a great job of de-escalating the situation/protecting us,” Onyenwere posted. “It’s still extremely weird & crosses the boundaries meeting us right when we get off the bus.”
“I wasn’t present for the interaction from earlier, but what occurred isn’t acceptable,” forward Brianna Turner posted. “Didn’t realize that when we said ‘grow the game’ that would be interpreted as harassing players at hotels….Yes we (thankfully) travel with security, but the absurd headlines recently has certainly created an unstable environment for our safety.”
