From being a number four pick in the WNBA 2007 draft by the Minnesota Lynx to taking over the position of head coach after spending 2 years as the associate HC in Seattle Storm, Noelle Quinn certainly had a hold on the organization. However, it is alleged that the staff mistreated the players due to “on-court performance… during the 2024 season.” However, per a recent update, it seems that there might be more trouble brewing for the franchise.

According to the latest news, Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith have unfollowed Loyd on social media and vice versa. “WHO WAS GONNA TELL ME THAT NNEKA AND SDS UNFOLLOWED JEWELL AND VICE VERSA???? THE GIRLS REALLY ARE FIGHTING WTF????” read a fan tweet.

The Storm, who finished 11-29 in 2023, got to 25-15 this year and were defeated by the Las Vegas Aces during the first round of WNBA playoffs. This was the Storm’s third playoff appearance during the short time under her coaching. But if reports are to be believed, then Diggins-Smith, Lloyd, and Ogwumike might not have the best of equations.

Notably, both Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith were signed in free agency last season. While Diggins-Smith’s contract runs through 2024 to 2025, Ogwumike had a one-year contract with the Storm. Meanwhile, Loyd would be an unrestricted free agent in 2026 after a 2-year contract extension.

However, it seems that since the news about the alleged mistreatment broke out, things are going downhill for the franchise. Let’s learn about what this is about.

The franchise finds itself in troubled waters

According to Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times, a law firm has been hired by the team to look into the allegations of “alleged harassment” and “bullying” related to the on-court performances of players. The incidents under the scanner, according to the same article, are said to have happened during games and practices. While the exact parties involved in the issue are not known, it is said that the Storm staff played a major role in being harsh on their players.

The other coaching staff of Quinn includes assistant Perry Huang and Ebony Hoffman. While Huang joined in 2021, Hoffman joined in 2022. Plus, in 2022, the former Sky coach Pokey Chatman got into the franchise as an assistant. Meanwhile, Quinn signed a multi-year contract extension last year, whereas Chatman was promoted to the role of associate GM apart from being given the responsibility of fulfilling the role of assistant coach.

Meanwhile, it is said that the problems arose in the second half of the tournament this year when the Seattle-based team lost 7 of their final 15 games, triggering conversations about whether they really deserved to make it to the playoffs. And this performance was completely opposite to how they had performed before the Olympics break when they won 17 out of their 25 matchups. While Quinn did not make any profane comments or display any kind of hostility towards the plays, Diggins-Smith, in a statement vented out, came off as passive-aggressive.

“In this league, if you aren’t ready to play, you’ll get beat every f–king night. They were ready to play and we weren’t, on both sides of the basketball. They deserved to win the game if we’re gonna play like that. We need to be hitting our stride right now. We’re not there. It’s unacceptable how we’re playing on both sides of the basketball. And I f–ked it up at the end. That’s a terrible foul as a vet. You can’t make that play, but it shouldn’t come down to that. We all gotta step our game up. In this league, it only gets harder after the break. And that’s fine. That’s fine. But if we don’t come ready to play from the start, we’re going to f–king lose,” Diggins-Smith stated after the team’s 74-72 loss to the Washington Mystics.

Towards the end of the season, even Loyd’s mother came to the fore to speak about Quinn and cheer for their opponents, the Las Vegas Aces, when they swept the Storm in the first round of playoffs. While it did look like she was expressing her resentment towards Quinn, maybe due to her treatment of Loyd, once the reports of alleged mistreatment came out, it was rather surprising that Mama Loyd was so open in her criticisms.

Though there is no clarity on what transpired between the staff and the players, maybe it’s somewhere related to supporting Quinn’s reign. Well, all we can do is wait for the truth to come out soon.