Melissa Tamez/ Icon Sportswire
Chicago Sky players say they were “harassed” Wednesday night outside a Washington D.C. hotel by a man who was “specifically was targeting guard Chennedy Carter,” Annie Costabile reported for the Chicago Sun-Times.
The incident follows a highly-publicized flagrant foul committed Saturday by Carter on Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.
Sky players including Angel Reese, Isabelle Harrison and Michaela Onyenwere first described the incident in posts on X.
Reese said Wednesday that someone put a camera “in my teammates face,” while Harrison said she “couldn’t even step off the bus.”
WOW!!! Thank GOD for security. My teammate being harassed at our hotel is insane! Couldn’t even step off the bus!!!
— Isabelle Harrison (@OMG_itsizzyb) June 5, 2024
Getting harassed at our hotel is where the line needs to be drawn. Some “fans” have NO CHILLLLL 🤮
— Michaela Onyenwere (@monyenwere_) June 5, 2024
Onyenwere credited team security for doing “a great job of de-escalating the situation.”
We have security, and they did a great job of de-escalating the situation/protecting us. It’s still extremely weird & crosses the boundaries meeting us right when we get off the bus.
https://t.co/HZZ60ytx3E— Michaela Onyenwere (@monyenwere_) June 5, 2024
Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said the police were not called, Costabile reported.
“It was over as fast as it started,” Pagliocca said, per Costabile. “I’m very confident in our security always making our players feel safe. Today was a great example of how critical they are to our team.”
During a 71-70 loss to the Fever Saturday in Indianapolis, Carter checked Clark to the court. She was retroactively assessed a flagrant 1 foul for the contact.
The incident resulted in national media attention on the Sky and Carter, who received applause from the Chicago home crowd during a Tuesday game against the New York Liberty.
“It felt good just to know that Sky Town supports me,” Carter said after the 88-75 loss (h/t the New York Post‘s Jaclyn Hendricks.) “The fans got loud and that ultimately just got me going, it gave me confidence. Soon as I came in, they gave me confidence, so I started feeling it. I’m like, ‘Okay, the crowd is with you, your team is with you, let’s go.'”
The Sky are on the road for a Thursday night game against the Washington Mystics.
