Angel Reese Responds To Sandy Brondello's "Protected Species" Apology

The latest to blame for WNBA drama surrounding Angel Reese comes from Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello.

After a collision with Tempo forward Nyara Sabally, who suffered a game-ending rib injury, an angry Brondello referred to Reese as a “protected species.”

Brondello caught wind of the outrage after the Dream’s 111-92 win, with many people upset that she’d refer to a Black woman in such an inhumane way.

Reese herself took issue, with a fan tweeting, “Calling a Black woman a species…” and Reese responded by quote-tweeting it with, “ARE WE SURPRISED?!” and a clown face emoji.

Brondello apologized and was suspended for one game without pay.

“Angel, I’m sorry. Last night, in the emotion of the moment after Nyara’s injury,” she wrote on X. “I used a phrase that I shouldn’t have used, and I take full responsibility for that. My frustration was with the officiating, but my words unfairly put the focus on you.”

She continued, “I also understand that my words carried an impact beyond what I intended, particularly for Black women in our league, and I’m deeply sorry for that. I’ve spent my career competing with, coaching, and learning from incredible Black women.”

Now Reese has responded when talking to the media ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Sky.

“I’m sure everyone knows about the situation that happened last game, and I’m going to address this one time,” she began. “First, I appreciate Sandy’s apology, but I also appreciate the love and support that I’ve had for the last 48 hours. It has been very overwhelming with a lot of love and also other things. But I am grateful that the league did take action.”

She added that “There is no place for discrimination or hate in this league from anyone – from fans to coaches to players.”

Now that a solid apology has been issued, Reese is ready to move on, as the WNBA’s popularity is at an all-time high.

“And I’m just grateful that we are able to move on from the situation and just play winning basketball. The WNBA is supposed to be positive, and we are going in a great light right now, so I just want to continue that and move forward.”

See the ongoing reaction to the situation below.