A group of Minnesota Lynx fans were ruled out of the team’s victory over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night after harassing Wings forward Satou Sabally after twisting her ankle.
Sabally, late in the fourth quarter of the Lynx’s 91-86 win at the Target Center in Minneapolis, landed on the foot of Lynx guard Bridget Carleton and rolled her left ankle. While standing on the field, Sabally turned her head and looked directly at a group of fans sitting near the field.
According to Wings head coach Latricia Trammell, fans told Sabally they were glad she was injured.
Sabally, after sinking all three free throws after committing a Flagrant 1 foul, then blew a kiss to the Target Center crowd.
“I can handle a lot, and so can our players, as you know,” said Trammell. . But if Satou goes down and someone in the stands yells, “I’m glad you’re hurt,” there’s no room for that. [Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve] apologized for that. That still doesn’t make it right… That’s not what this competition is about. And if someone shouts that when Satou is crying on the floor, and someone yells and says, ‘I’m glad you’re hurt, and then you’re probably faking it,’ then there’s a problem.’
It’s unclear how many fans were turned away, though several were walked out of the arena.
Sabally also took to Twitter after the loss, calling the Lynx’s fan base “disgusting.” The fan had apparently been making similar comments throughout the match.
Reeve said after the game that she apologized to both Trammell and Sabally for the behavior of the fans.
“Of course it gets competitive and tensions run high on the pitch, but we never want anyone to get hurt,” Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said: . “Celebrating that is super inappropriate and not something that represents us as a team or as players. I felt that fan deserved to be kicked out because I don’t want this to represent who we are as Lynx.”
The Lynx, after leading for much of the game, held on in a chaotic last minute to take the win. Sabally’s three free throws cut the game to just three points, then Arike Ogunbowale jumped it back to one point with less than 20 seconds left.
However, that was the last goal they scored. Kayla Mcbride and Collier combined for four free throws along the stretch to seal the five-point victory.
Sabally led Dallas with 22 points and seven assists. Ogunbowale added 20 points and seven assists, and Natasha Howard finished with 16 points. The Wings had just six points off the bench and made 18 turnovers. Collier finished with 29 points for Minnesota after shooting 11 of 16 from the field. McBride added 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Carleton added 14 points from the bench.
The two teams, which are only two games apart in the standings but more than ten games away from the Las Vegas Aces in the Western Conference, will face off again on Thursday in Dallas.
