What the [bleep] is going on with the Seattle Storm? (Part 1)
I talked to several people, and word on the street is...
Welcome to Beta Basket in English, the English version of Beta Basket, the first women’s basketball outlet in Latin America. Please, make sure to subscribe to this newsletter and follow me on X and Blue Sky.
*sigh* Beta Basket in English has just gone live and major news broke last night that can’t go uncovered. Before you continue reading, a few disclosures:
1. I am a journalist first and foremost.
2. It’s not a secret to anyone that I was employed by the Seattle Storm between April 2021 and February 2024. Therefore, extra steps were taken to ensure this report is unbiased.
3. The piece you are reading now is based on several conversations I have had with sources close to the matter, which combined to my experience and knowledge of the organization’s culture give me a privileged perspective on what is happening.
4. I listened to sources from all sides.
5. This is an ongoing story. I am writing it in parts so it’s not a hefty read at once.
This is the start of Part 1. I am an independently journalist with a full-time day job, therefore. In order to ensure my high standards of writing and reporting, I will publish one part at a time so I can be sharp-minded (while keeping my income).
One great way to help is by sharing this with people you think would like to read about it.
There’s no calm in the Storm
This Friday night, Annie Costabilie of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Seattle is Storm being investigated for alleged player mistreatment by the coaching staff, led by head coach Noelle Quinn.
“A law firm hired by the team is looking into accusations of alleged harassment and bullying tied to on-court performance against the coaching staff during the 2024 season, a source said,” wrote Costabilie.
In the aftermath of the story going online, I reached out to my sources in order to get more clarity on the situation. Earlier this year, Beta Basket reported that there was trouble on the horizon as conflicts between Jewell Loyd and head coach Noelle Quinn intensified, to the point of impacting the team’s performance on the court. The topic has also been extensively covered in my conversations with Erica L. Ayala during episodes of our show Tempestade Talk, a podcast for the Seattle Storm fan.
Below is a summary on what I heard from sources regarding the current state of the investigation and the relationships within the team.
1. An EEOC complaint has been filed
The Seattle Storm is, indeed, working with a law firm, as reported by Annie Costabilie, but there are no details about who exactly is representing the team.
According to two sources, an EEOC complaint was filed for bullying and harassment. One of them went as far saying that those were specific to Black players. Some of the discriminative actions that I was told include coaches yelling at and alienating certain members of the team by not drawing plays for them. I was also told that players were subjected to retaliation if they passed the ball to someone that should not have been involved in the play.
2. No Gold Mamba enchanter
At this point, one would not be completely out of line if they said Jewell Loyd’s uneasiness with the changes on the Seattle Storm was a key contributor to the latest developments.
According to other two different sources in completely different spectrums of the women’s basketball industry, Loyd has been expressing her dissatisfaction with Noelle Quinn for two seasons now. The frustration, though, has not been limited to the head coach, as she displayed distrust on Storm General Manager Talisa Rhea’s decision-making abilities, culminating with the hiring of now Associate General Manager Pokey Chatman.
It is worth noting that, earlier this season, Jewell Loyd made a point to assert in press conferences that the reason Seattle was able to assemble a contender team by bringing Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith during free agency was due to Chatman’s bigger role in the front office.*
Things seemed to take a turn once Diggins-Smith and Ogwumike started having a more impactful role, outshining Loyd, who was a record-setting scorer the previous season. Jewell’s scoring prowess dipped significantly, from 24.7 ppg in 2023 to 19.7 ppg in 2024. In addition, she saw career-low efficiency indicators (49.7 TS% and 40.8 EFG%) and was passed by Ogwumike (+/- 6.0) as the most impactful player on the roster while tied second with Diggins-Smith at +/- 5.4.
*Context: In 2023, with Rhea having the commanding solo, the Storm finished 11th in the standings with an 11-29 record, a winning percentage of .275 that represents the second lowest in Storm history, behind only the .188 of its inaugural season)
3. No plan B, nor C
Another source told me that Force 10 Hoops, the Storm ownership group, was caught off-guard by the departure of Breanna Stewart, and that up until January 31, 2023, there was confidence among them that the now three-time WNBA champion would stay and continue the legacy left by Sue Bird, who retired in 2022. Instead, on the first day of free agency, Stewart announced that she was moving on to the New York Liberty.
Stewart went on to earn MVP honors in 2023 and won a championship this last October.
The lack of planning put Jewell Loyd in a complicated position, as now she was expected to take the helm as team leader despite not having much time to mentally prepare for the role. On top of that, the Storm had an unimpressive free agency, not finding help for Loyd on either side of the court, especially after Gabby Willians suffered a foot injury.
I discussed that matter thoroughly with Erica L. Ayala on our show Tempestade Talk, Keeping an Eye on the Storm.
4. She said, she said
On one side, sources close to Jewell Loyd allege that Noelle Quinn bullied her and any player who would not follow strict tactical rules. The poor guard performance during the 2024 Olympics was also said to be a result of biased coaching by Cheryl Reeve.
On the other side, sources are surprised that such accusations have been pointed towards Quinn, who is known for her calm and poised demeanor, and a player-first approach to coaching.
On both sides, there are strong accusations of mismanagement by the ownership group and the General Manager. Neither Noelle Quinn nor Jewell Loyd feel heard or supported by the owners (even if for different reasons) as decisions made in 2023 continue having a negative impact not only on the team’s record, but also on morale.
Publicly, players such as Skylar Diggins-Smith and Gabby Williams have called out the lack of grit from the team. “In this league, if you are not ready to play, you will be beat every f*cking night,” famously said Diggins-Smith following a heartbreaker 74-72 loss against the Washington Mystics. Williams expressed similar concerns.
Head coach Noelle Quinn agreed with Skylar, adding that desire to win is not something that she can create within players. “It needs to come from within,” she said. In another press conference, Nneka Ogwumike said, positively, that Quinn was “gangster.” When asked if she would describe herself as such, the head coach response response was very straight forward:
“Sure would [describe myself as gangster]. Straight up … When I say gangster, it’s not in negative gang. It’s my mindset. I don’t play,” she explained. “To take care of you business, to be a leader of an organization, to try to get these women to play their best basketball and, aside that, be the best individuals that they can be, that’s gangster.”
“Don’t say nothing wrong, the energy you give me I’m gonna give it right back. If you need some backup in the alley, I got you. But if you need me to pray for you, I got you too. So, that’s gangster to me. That' what I embody,” she finished.
There is more to come to this story. And yes, I have lots of thoughts and feelings about it, but I am consciously putting them aside and taking into consideration only what sources have told me and what I have personally seen. At some point, I will write a more personally opinionated piece on it, but this is not the time yet.
In the next part, I will write about Skylar Diggins-Smith and her reputation, and how sexism and racism plays a role on how things can be perceived.
Make sure to subscribe to this newsletter and follow me on X and Blue Sky so you don’t stay behind on coverage.
This is the end of part 1. I am an independently journalist with a full-time day job, therefore. In order to maintain my high standards on writing and reporting, I will publish one part at a time so I can focus properly (while keeping my income).
One great way to help is by sharing this with people you thunk would like to read about it.
You need to recheck your sources. There is solid evidence of the coaching team creating a hostile environment for players to function. There is also evidence that proves the unprofessional Al behavior by coaches including physical threats made by coaches to specific team members witnessed by outside persons. Check your sources because mine will standup in a court of law. No hearsay facts.
Sad to see all this.