{"id":10488,"date":"2026-07-19T10:42:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T05:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=10488"},"modified":"2026-07-19T10:42:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T05:42:47","slug":"toronto-tempo-coach-sandy-brondello-apologizes-for-calling-atlanta-dream-star-angel-reese-a-protected-species-wnba-later-issues-one-game-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=10488","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Tempo Coach Sandy Brondello Apologizes For Calling Atlanta Dream Star Angel Reese \u2018A Protected Species,\u2019 WNBA Later Issues One-Game Suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:default1=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" itemprop=\"text\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The WNBA has suspended Toronto Tempo coach <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hollywoodunlocked.com\/tag\/sandy-brondello\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sandy Brondello<\/a><\/strong> for calling Atlanta Dream star <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hollywoodunlocked.com\/tag\/angel-reese\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Angel Reese<\/a><\/strong> \u201ca protected species\u201d during their recent game. Hours after Brondello issued an apology, the league issued her a one-game suspension. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RELATED<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/hollywoodunlocked.com\/sports-journalist-tanya-ray-fox-drags-white-women-criticizing-wnba-star-angel-reese-as-she-made-history-walking-in-victorias-secret-fashion-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sports Journalist Tanya Ray Fox Drags White Women Criticizing WNBA Star Angel Reese As She Made History Walking In Victoria\u2019s Secret Fashion Show<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday (July 17), Toronto played Atlanta and during the game, Toronto\u2019s\u00a0<strong>Nyara Sabally<\/strong>\u00a0fouled Reese after an offensive rebound.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As officials reviewed the call, microphones picked up on Brondello yelling at the referees. The mics also captured Brondello yelling, \u201cAngel, she\u2019s a protected species!\u201d The game ended with the Dream beating the Tempo 111-92. As Brondello\u2019s comments went viral, Reese reacted on X. A social user wrote, \u201cCalling a Black woman a species\u2026\u201d Reese replied, \u201cARE WE SURPRISED?! @SBrondello \ud83e\udd21.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brondello ended up issuing an apology on Saturday (July 18). She wrote on X: <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAngel, I\u2019m sorry. Last night, in the emotion of the moment after Nyara\u2019s injury, I used a phrase that I shouldn\u2019t have used, and I take full responsibility for that. My frustration was with the officiating, but my words unfairly put the focus on you. I also understand that my words carried an impact beyond what I intended, particularly for Black women in our league, and I\u2019m deeply sorry for that. I\u2019ve spent my career competing with, coaching and learning from incredible Black women. I regret that my words caused hurt to a community I respect so deeply. I have a lot of respect for you as both a player and a person, and I sincerely apologize to you, your teammates, and the Dream organization for my comment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RELATED<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/hollywoodunlocked.com\/angel-reese-has-been-traded-to-atlanta-dream\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chicago Sky Star Angel Reese Traded To Atlanta Dream<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the comments, some users debated about the remark. While some called it racist, others said it was taken out of context. Some said the phrase \u201cprotected species\u201d is simply basketball slang and not an insult. Another argument claimed Brondello, who is an Australian native, used the phrase which is also an idiom in the culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hours after Brondello\u2019s apology, the WNBA announced it was suspending the coach for one game, without pay. The announcement read:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cToronto Tempo Head Coach Sandy Brondello has been suspended without pay for one game for an inappropriate comment she made regarding Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream during the Tempo\u2019s 111-92 loss to the Dream yesterday in Toronto. Brondello will serve her suspension Monday when the Tempo host the Las Vegas Aces. The WNBA expects all coaches and team personnel to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and respect that are fundamental to our league.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after! <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Da9UjhtEfco\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The WNBA has suspended Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello for calling Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese \u201ca protected species\u201d during their recent game. Hours after Brondello issued an apology, the league issued her a one-game suspension. RELATED: Sports Journalist Tanya Ray Fox Drags White Women Criticizing WNBA Star Angel Reese As She Made History Walking&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/hollywoodunlocked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Toronto-Tempo-Coach-Sandy-Brondello-Apologizes-For-Calling-Atlanta-Dream-Star-Angel-Reese-\u2018A-Protected-Species-WNBA-Later-Issues-One-Game-Suspension.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}