Report: Chicago Sky file complaint with WNBA after coach James Wade said official used racist term

The Chicago Sky have filed a complaint with the WNBA after coach James Wade, who is Black, said that an official referred to him as "boy" to one of the team's players during a game, according to a report.

The Chicago Tribune reported, citing a team spokesperson, that Sky players heard the official allegedly use the derogatory reference Tuesday night during a 90-83 loss against the Atlanta Dream and that Wade himself saw the exchange take place.

"I’m a grown man," Wade said Tuesday after the loss, per the Tribune. "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."

WNBA head coach and Sky GM James Wade smiles during a press conference. (Photo: The Associated Press)

Wade didn't clarify when the comment took place or which players were addressed. The term is demeaning and dehumanizing toward Black men.

The Sky fell to 2-2, but that wasn't the only issue Wade took with the officiating crew from the game. Though the Sky were called for 22 fouls and the Dream for 21, Wade said after the game that officials unjustly targeted Sky players.

"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."

Source: Read Full Article