Who would have forgotten the iconic “Night Night” celebration of Sabrina Ionescu at last year’s WNBA Finals? Using a clutch three-pointer to seal the deal at Game 3 for the Liberty, the 26-year-old provided the league with one of the most viral moments of the season. And, she’s back at it again. But, this time it’s at the grandest stage of them all!

A quarterfinal spot was up for grabs as Team USA Thursday evening at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille. In a hard-fought endeavor, Team USA was able to brush aside reigning European champions Belgium 87-74 to move one step closer to their quest for an 8th consecutive gold. And, the night proved somewhat productive for the team’s talented point guard Sabrina Ionescu who contributed with 6 points.

Anyhow, one of the highlights of the night arrived in the dying moments of the game. With the scores at 84-74 and just 0:04 left on the clock, the first-time Olympian connected a stunning Three-Point Jumper to provide a 13-point cushion for Team USA. Following this, she came up with a silencing gesture and directed it towards the crowd. This reminisces the memorable night at the Barclays Center last year when Ionescu used Stephen Curry’s trademark “Night Night” towards the supporters of A’ja Wilson and Co. present in the stands.

While this is not the first and certainly not the last time Ionescu has extended such a gesture, it appears that the stage and occasion are compelling factors for the fans to grill her on social media.

Sabrina Ionescu faces backlash for being “The Silencer”

Those in attendance applauded the fact that Belgium was able to take the fight to Team USA. Throughout the 4 quarters, they made sure that their opponents didn’t have the upper hand. And then instead of witnessing Sabrina Ionescu commending their efforts, the fans were somewhat disappointed when she capped off the night in such a manner. Therefore, one X user wrote, “Quite distasteful taunt at the audience after a very cheap and unsportsmanlike final shot. Sad to see a great and intense game end on such a sour note”. 

At the same time, there were few who weren’t happy with how the game was officiated. There was a common notion that the referees favored Team USA on multiple occasions while handing out crucial decisions. And then seeing Ionescu behave like that right at the very end was deemed “unsportsmanlike” by many. Expressing it, one fan said, “Unbelievable unsportsmanlike behavior! Team USA with a lot of help from the referees!”

Sabrina Ionescu had a rather quiet night for her standards. Coming off the bench, she spent a total of 19 minutes in the middle. Those 19 minutes produced 6 points with her shooting 2 of 5 from the field and 1 of 2 from beyond the arc. Evidently, according to some, this wasn’t enough for her to display such a reaction. Subsequently, an X user expressed, “One shot made the entire game and she pulls this move… What a joke”. 

Meanwhile, some even put ‘The Athletic’ in their firing lines for inventing such a nickname for the 3× WNBA All-Star. Bringing the superheroes into the discussion, one fan didn’t think it was convincing enough. The comment read, “lol the silencer sounds like a superhero name”. 

Recently, ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith brought to light the significant reduction in the fan following of Team USA. Seemingly, only 13,040 fans were present when they took on Japan in their Olympic opener. This is the lowest turnout in all 6 opening games in the Paris Olympics. Moreover, it was 8000 less than what is usually expected. And something similar happened this time around as well. On top of that, the ones present weren’t seen cheering for them. Pointing that out, one fan wrote, “A benchwarmer, who’s only impact was to provoke the audience. Reaction shows how relieved they were that the ref was the only one there cheering for them”. 

The hostility against Sabrina Ionescu doesn’t seem to end for now. Appearing in the Olympics for the first time, such a reception from fans is something she didn’t expect. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see what’s next in waiting in line for her.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And, join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.