CHICAGO, ILL. — It’s not often that when I am in a city covering a separate event I also take in a WNBA game, but this longtime reporter did just this last Thursday. Instead of my media row seat provided by the home team, I had a much better seat — third row up, center court at the Chicago Sky’s 2025 home opener against the visiting New York Liberty.
Sky games aren’t that much different from Lynx home games — nonstop noise provided by a loudmouth in-arena host, kooky contests, T-shirt tosses and staged video bits all under the heading of entertainment.
Before the game, I spoke to longtime Black ticket holders. All except one spoke on the condition of anonymity and we gave them fictional names.
“I grew up with women’s basketball,” said “Michael,” an elderly longtime season ticket holder at the game with his wife.
“John,” a young Black man, said he’s been a fan for four years: “I see improvement in the team. We’re down but on the way up.”
“Andre,” a longtime Black fan, is upset that his season tickets went up “about 300%” from a year ago. “They raised the ticket prices and didn’t let the ticket holders know they were raising them that much.”
The Chicago Sky was founded prior to the 2006 season. They twice made the Finals (2014 runners-up) and won the 2021 title. Both finishes were led by Black coaches (Pokey Chatman and James Wade). The two were among four Black GMs in team history.
The 2025 Sky is led by second-year players Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, and bolstered by such veterans as Rachel Banham. “I just want to get a win,” Banham told me before the game.
However, the home team lost to New York 99-74. Reese had a game-high 12 boards, but only made two free throws, and Cardoso finished with six points — the two combined for 3-for-16 shooting. Banham led Chicago with 15 points in 15 minutes off the bench.
Art Jarrett and other Blacks sitting around me unabashedly voiced their displeasure throughout the game. “The offense is not working for them. They have no clue, and they are not playing defense,” he said more than once.
Afterwards he complained, “The coaching needs to be better and needs to get their bigs involved,” said Jarrett, who watched the game with his wife.
Last Thursday’s game was Chicago’s first since their May 17 season opening loss at Indiana, which featured a Caitlin Clark hard foul on Reese that set off a social media firestorm clearly along racial lines. It forced a league investigation on whether “monkey sounds” were played during the game directed towards Reese, and a “Conduct Advisory” card placed on every seat at the game. “Fans who act inappropriately will not be tolerated and may be subject to ejection from the arena and/or revocation of their tickets,” stated the WNBA Security placard.
“As far as the racist stuff, I hope it stays in Indiana and does not come here,” stressed “Michael.”
“John” pointed out, “It’s an issue that really shouldn’t be what it is. They make it a Black and white thing. It’s just basketball.”
“Michael” says most local Blacks support the Sky, which has an all-Black coaching staff. “It’s more important for the young people to see that, especially in the city of Chicago with our Black mayor. They need to see that there’s no limits.”
However, Marsh and his first-year coaching staff have a ways to go to get Jarrett and other Blacks sitting in my section in their corner. “It’s no improvement over T-Spoon [former coach Teresa Weatherspoon, who was fired last fall after just one season as head coach],” bemoaned Jarrett.
“That’s not important to me,” surmised “Andre” on the team’s all-Black staff. “What’s important to me is winning. I don’t think he’s the right coach for this team. I think they did [Weatherspoon] wrong.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.