The Chicago Sky filed a complaint Tuesday night with the WNBA after coach James Wade said an official referred to him as “boy” during the team’s 90-83 loss to the Atlanta Dream at Wintrust Arena.
“I’m a grown man,” said Wade, who is Black, after the game. “I have a family and I have a responsibility. I have a team and I have a responsibility. So when someone tells one of your players, ‘Explain to your boy,’ yeah, I take that personal.
“But that’s what I’ve been dealing with. That’s how people see me. Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m fine.”
Wade did not say which player was told this or at what juncture of the game. A team spokesperson said that Sky players heard the official use the derogatory reference and that Wade saw the exchange.
The term “boy” has been used historically as a derogatory and demeaning reference to Black men.
The WNBA declined to provide details about the Sky’s complaint when contacted Wednesday by the Tribune. In most situations in which a team lodges a complaint of this nature, the league will launch an investigation.
The loss was the second straight for the Sky, who played their third straight game without injured Candace Parker (ankle) and Allie Quigley (hamstring).
The Sky (2-2) were called for only one more foul (22) than the Dream, but Wade implied officials targeted his team with “ridiculous” calls.
“I don’t know how good of a coach I can be, I don’t know how effective I can be, if you look at the game and see how it is,” he said. “I’m not going to try to victimize anything but I take it personal. It’s personal. We don’t have any margin for error. Watch the game. It’s ridiculous. It’s shameful and It’s disgraceful.
“The players work hard. When they come out and try to do the right things and they get penalized for what colors you have on, then I think it’s ridiculous.”
The Sky next play at home Friday against the Los Angeles Sparks — Parker’s former team before she signed in the offseason as a free agent with the Sky.
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