Sky Players Blast 'Disgusting' Fans For Social Media Hate After Playoff Elimination
The Chicago Sky ended their 2024 season by suffering a brutal 87-54 defeat to the Connecticut Sun on Thursday.
With this loss, the Sky (who finished 13-27 on the season and missed the playoffs by two games) went 2-8 in their final 10 games and completely unraveled after the WNBA's month-long Paris Olympics break.
Given the massive profile of 22-year-old rookie sensation Angel Reese, the Sky were under a microscope for the entire season. And given how polarizing of a superstar Reese is to many, this also meant the Sky were subject to a ton of hate over social media.
After Thursday's game, two Sky players spoke out about how difficult of a season it was for them due to the online hate and harassment they received.
"I'mma be honest, it was tough," Sky guard Dana Evans said about all the hate toward Sky players this season, per X user @TheSkyShowCHI. "It was really tough... When you got people that steady bashing you that's supposed to be our supporters, I feel like that was a little slap in the face and that was kind of hard to deal with."
"It was disgusting," Sky forward Isabelle Harrison added. "I've never experienced this amount of hate and harassment this entire season. I'm getting emotional about it... I'm constantly having to block people, and people are making narratives up about you. It's hurtful. And it's hard to just focus on basketball.
"I appreciate the new eyes, but if it comes with hate and bigotry and racism... keep it offline, because it's so hurtful, and you don't know how that affects people," Harrison added.
https://t.co/onA6gSm0Ku pic.twitter.com/WxeUjWRNyP
— The Sky Show CHI (@TheSkyShowCHI) September 20, 2024
It's difficult to see how all of this hate affected these Sky players, who just want to play the game they love at a high level.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.