The Chicago Sky continued its celebration tour of pettiness on Oct. 19, 2021.
At the 2021 WNBA championship parade, the Sky brought the door Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi kicked after the team’s 80-74 season-ending loss on Sunday, Oct. 17.
During the Mercury’s exit interview media availability, Taurasi seemingly evaded the question about the kicked door and responded with a short and vague answer.
“There were a lot of doors in there,” Taurasi said.
The WNBA awarded Taurasi with the GOAT ball during the Finals in honor of the league celebrating its 25th season. The 39-year-old guard is the WNBA’s all-time leader in points, and the “Greatest of All-Time” anointing came from a combination of media and fan votes. While Taurasi’s long-standing career and stats compare with some of the game’s greats, she had a few problems controlling her temper this postseason. The league fined her $2,500 for shoving a referee in Game 2 of the finals after media members and fans alike called for her suspension.
“Suspend Diana Taurasi for Game 3,” SNY host Chris Williamson tweeted. “It’s bigger than just this series. The issue is how White players are not policed in the same way as Black players are by the refs. Plenty of examples that back that statement up in the WNBA and across all sports.”
Tuesday’s door appearance wasn’t the only sign of pettiness Chicago showed after winning the title. Sky guard Kahleah Copper became a meme from a picture taken of her staring down Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham in Game 2. None of the Sky players, including Copper, posted the photo — until after the series. That’s when Sky guard Lexie Brown posted the photo with no caption and Cunningham encouraged Copper to put the viral photo on a T-shirt. Copper also posted the photo with the caption “NEVER FORGET,” much to the delight of the NBA and WNBA players who left comments under the post supporting Copper.
“Everyone knows what actually happened in this photo, plus my hair looks cute,” Cunningham tweeted.
