The Chicago Sky don\u2019t have the appetite for a rebuild. All of the moves they made last offseason indicate a certain level of impatience. But on Friday, they punished their star player for espousing those same views.<\/p>\n
If this is an organization that is trying to be taken more seriously, then accountability starts with the front office itself, not a player saying what everyone around the league is already thinking.<\/p>\n
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Angel Reese found herself in hot water earlier this week after she gave an interview to the Chicago Tribune that criticized the current direction of the franchise. In it, she said the Sky needed to bring in better players but that there wasn\u2019t much that would attract the best free agents to Chicago. Reese also said that she would look elsewhere if things didn\u2019t change.<\/p>\n
After the article published, she apologized to her teammates for the attacks on their abilities, saying, \u201cI really didn\u2019t intentionally mean to put down my teammates.\u201d That should have been the end of the matter \u2014 at least publicly.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Sky decided to suspend Reese for the first half of an upcoming game against the Las Vegas Aces. Chicago couldn\u2019t discipline her for the Sky\u2019s next game against the Indiana Fever because Reese has already been suspended for that contest due to technical foul accumulation.<\/p>\n
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The team\u2019s press release deemed her comments as \u201cdetrimental to the team.\u201d It said: \u201cThe Chicago Sky values the safety, respect, and well-being of every player. We are committed to accountability so our players can stay focused on playing basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement shortly concluded: \u201cThis matter has been handled and resolved internally, and we are moving forward as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
If it were really resolved internally, then the Sky would have not needed to make a public statement. But they are trying to draw attention away from their shortcomings and deflect it onto the way Reese presented the message. <\/p>\n
Reese is hardly the first player to bemoan the state of the Chicago Sky. On a StudBudz stream, Courtney Williams complained about having to share space at the team\u2019s practice area, particularly when players and other attendees of the recreation center need to shower. Kahleah Copper, the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP, asked for a trade and pointedly celebrated how she could focus on basketball alone as a member of the Phoenix Mercury. Candace Parker talked about finally getting a locker to put her stuff in after she left the Sky for the Las Vegas Aces in 2023.<\/p>\n
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People around the league are familiar with the player experience in Chicago (or Connecticut, Dallas or Los Angeles); Reese highlighting the disparity between her organization and others that receive more investment is common practice. The Sky are obviously aware of the issues because they are building a practice facility that is supposed to open by the start of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Where Reese likely erred was by directly calling out her teammates, most notably when she referred to herself and Kamilla Cardoso as the only cornerstones of the franchise moving forward and when she said Chicago couldn\u2019t rely on Courtney Vandersloot as its point guard in 2026 at the age of 37 coming off of an ACL injury.<\/p>\n
There is validity to those statements, but Reese could have taken more care with her language considering she was talking about people she shares a locker room with. <\/p>\n
But all that demanded was an apology, not retribution from the organization itself.<\/p>\n
Coaches constantly talk about the need to play harder and bring effort. Reese merely flipped that axiom on its head by asking to be coached harder.<\/p>\n
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Reese wants great players in Chicago? So too does the front office, which traded away multiple draft assets, including the ability to draft All-Star Sonia Citron, to acquire former Olympian Ariel Atkins in the 2025 offseason. The Sky went after a veteran point guard in Vandersloot who has won two titles and led the league in assists seven times. They targeted shooters to complement their frontcourt in Kia Nurse and Rebecca Allen while re-signing Michaela Onyenwere.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the franchise is upset that Reese\u2019s comments pointed out the missteps in the front office\u2019s team-building approach. Reese wants to skip through the rebuilding process, but doing so already put Chicago in a position where building a stronger talent base is going to be much more difficult.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t as if Reese gave this interview without the awareness of the organization.<\/p>\n
She spoke to a beat reporter at practice<\/a> with a member of the public relations staff watching along. Surely, they knew what was coming.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Fans of Chicago\u2019s other basketball team will be reminded of a game in 2017 when the Bulls benched stars Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade for comments they made calling out their teammates\u2019 effort levels. The coaching staff couldn\u2019t stomach sitting them for more than five minutes, however, and the message rang hollow.<\/a><\/p>\n That the Sky\u2019s punishment will last longer than five minutes is merely a reflection of their place in the standings. The fact remains that they can\u2019t tolerate an honest assessment from the face of their franchise. The 2025 season will last for only four more games, and the organization could have let this disappointing campaign come to a merciful end. But their actions ensure that their shortcomings will remain a part of the public conversation.<\/p>\n