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BREAKING: New York Liberty plan to retain Maddie the Mascot

By Howard Megdal

NEW YORK,NY - SEPTEMBER 29 : Mascot 'Maddie'of the New York Liberty gets the crowd pumped up against the Indiana Fever during game Three of the WNBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden on September 29, 2015 in New York, New York NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK,NY - SEPTEMBER 29 : Mascot 'Maddie'of the New York Liberty gets the crowd pumped up against the Indiana Fever during game Three of the WNBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden on September 29, 2015 in New York, New York NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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A symbol of the franchise remains in place.

Despite a change in ownership, and potential venue move in the team’s future, the New York Liberty plan to keep Maddie the Mascot as part of the team’s operations, a team spokesperson confirmed to High Post Hoops.

“The plan is for Maddie to return this season,” a team spokesperson emailed.

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The decision keeps a critical part of the Liberty game experience in place as the franchise enters its 23rd season facing numerous decisions.

The Liberty will play most of their home games at the Westchester County Center once again in 2019, due largely to arrangements made prior to the team sale from Jim Dolan to Joseph Tsai. But with Tsai’s Brooklyn Nets ties, and current efforts to buy Barclays itself, it is unsurprising that the Liberty will be playing multiple games at Barclays in 2019, first an exhibition game on May 9 against the Chinese national team, then a regular season game August 11 against the Seattle Storm.

That led many observers to wonder about the fate of Maddie, an original member of the Liberty like Rebecca Lobo, but one who, unlike Lobo, was named after Madison Square Garden, the team’s now-former home.

As the Liberty put it on their website, “Like most dogs, Maddie is a lovable dog and is known for a unique personality among the Liberty faithful. Maddie can be found before every game in the Westchester County Center lobby signing autographs and posing for those special pictures. Besides being a Liberty fan favorite, Maddie plays an important role for the team, getting fans on their feet to root the team on to a victory.”

NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 19: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg poses with New York Liberty Team Mascot, Maddie, on November 19, 2002 in New York, New York in support of the announcement that the 2003 WNBA All Star Game will take place in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jennifer Pottheiser/ WNBAE/ Getty Images)
NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 19: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg poses with New York Liberty Team Mascot, Maddie, on November 19, 2002 in New York, New York in support of the announcement that the 2003 WNBA All Star Game will take place in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jennifer Pottheiser/ WNBAE/ Getty Images) /

No observer of the Liberty would disagree with these basic facts, and so it is a logical move by New York to retain Maddie, even as the team looks to improve upon last season’s results, powered by the second overall pick in the 2019 draft, Asia Durr.

The news comes a few weeks after the Minnesota Lynx announced that they will be supplementing Prowl, their longtime mascot, with some live wild cats as part of what appeared to be an April Fools’ joke. Note, however, how careful the team was to have Danielle Robinson assure fans that “Prowl is great, don’t get me wrong.”

Loyalty to the elite mascots in the WNBA, in other words, cannot be questioned.

Or as the Liberty put it on their website, “You can always count on Maddie to spread happiness throughout the day.”

Now we know, in 2019, that continues to be true. In uncertain times, Maddie will remain a constant.

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