James Wade? Resigned. Emre Vatansever? Fired. Teresa Weatherspoon? Fired. With this, the franchise will be looking for their fourth coach within a span of 2 years. While Weatherspoon was just in her first year, a lot of fans opine that the Sky not making it to the playoffs, accompanied by main stars not preferring to join the organization had put her job at stake. However, according to the WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes, the Chicago Sky is at fault and should stop peddling lies.

Swoopes was present during an episode of Queens of the Court on Friday, when she spoke at length about Chicago’s recent problem with candidness without any fear of the repercussions. “Gabby Williams when she was communicating with Angel back and forth on Twitter said, ‘Listen sis, It ain’t you. I would love to play for you. I ain’t coming back to play for that organization because of the way they treated me.’ And all of those players you just listed, Spoon wasn’t there. So don’t say they don’t wanna come there because of her,” Swoopes recounted on the podcast.

Williams after winning back-to-back titles with UConn was drafted as the fourth overall pick by the Sky. Though her performances were up to the mark, the French baller was accused of not making the Sky a priority by the then head coach and general manager James Wade. As a result, she was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in 2021. And now after her riveting performance in the Olympics Final against Team USA, the 28-year-old was requested by Angel Reese to join the Sky lineup after the break. However, Williams recollected her animosity with the Sky and opined that she would like to play with Reese, albeit not for the Sky.

Thus, according to Swoopes, the previous stars of the Windy City namely Marina Mabrey, Sylvia Fowles, Kahleah Copper, Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, etc. have preferred not to play with Sky due to their management, and hence, T-Spoon cannot be blamed for not luring those stalwarts. The Sky are in their rebuilding phase and last won a Championship in 2021. However, owing to a lot of resignations and basketball players leaving the organization, the Sky were stuck this season, missing the playoffs berth after losing the last two crucial games of the regular season.

But when the exit interviews were conducted, a lot of players who were supportive of the new head coach, voiced their opinions against her. The 58-year-old was blamed, as per reports, for changing her playing style throughout the season which, again according to the Sky, was due to her learning curve as a coach. However, Swoopes pointed out that T-Spoon wasn’t at fault and there was something wrong with the franchise. Even the prominent Sky stars this season Reese and Chennedy Carter shared their take on Weatherspoon’s exit.

Angel Reese and Chennedy Carter come in support of Teresa Weatherspoon

The Chicago Sky drafted the number seven pick Angel Reese this season. In her rookie season itself, Reese became a mainstay player, breaking the double-doubles record and also ending the season with the highest rebounds average. This helped the Sky re-emerge as a competitive team until the midseason before injuries put a hold on their journey. Similarly, even Carter, who used to ply her trade as a fourth/fifth player, became the core offensive star for the Sky, ending her season at a high of 17.5 points per game.

Thus, when the news of the Louisiana Tech alumna exiting the Sky was made public, Reese revealed that she was heartbroken and the only reason she preferred to join the Chicago-based franchise was due to the 58-year-old coach. Even Carter took to X to share “’m forever thankful for spoon 🙏🏻🏁.” Despite there being rumors of players not accepting Weatherspoon’s playing style, two of her core players looked to support her during tough times.

Hopefully, after Swoopes’ comments, fans will stop blaming T-Spoon for the Sky’s untimely exit. And perhaps will also realize that there are some boiling concerns within the organization.