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Jamierra Faulkner announces she will not play this summer following injury

By Nicholas Niendorf

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Jamierra Faulkner #21 of the Los Angeles Sparks dribbles the ball against Chelsea Gray #12 of the Chicago Sky in Game Two of the Semifinals during the 2016 WNBA Playoffs at Staples Center on September 30, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Jamierra Faulkner #21 of the Los Angeles Sparks dribbles the ball against Chelsea Gray #12 of the Chicago Sky in Game Two of the Semifinals during the 2016 WNBA Playoffs at Staples Center on September 30, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The 27-year-old Faulkner made the announcement on her YouTube channel on Friday afternoon

Chicago Sky free agent Jamierra Faulkner shared in a video on her YouTube channel on Friday that she will not play basketball this summer following a knee injury.

“To me, it’s for my sanity,” Faulkner said in the video. “It’s for my sanity and my own mental health as well as my physical health. Emotionally , it’s been a lot for me these past couple years, it’s been really, really tough.”

Faulkner has dealt with a series of knee injuries the past four years, undergoing five surgeries in that time span. She is currently recovering from surgery in Chicago following a tear in her lateral meniscus.

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“I played in Russia and I just kept working, kept building up and I felt like a month ago, a month and a half ago, like I was finally back to Jayy,” Faulkner said in the video. “Like damn I feel good. I feel my speed came back, everything was coming back, like it was working out, I was figuring it out.”

Faulkner suffered the injury while abroad playing for Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg. She had surgery to repair the damage on February 6.

The No. 34 pick in the 2014 draft, Faulkner has spent her entire WNBA career with the Chicago Sky and played a key role in the Sky’s 2016 playoff run. The Southern Mississippi alum played in 13 games last season on a minutes restriction. She averaged 1.3 points, 0.8 assists and 5.5 minutes per game.

Faulkner said she is going to take the time to focus on her mental health, as well as her body and diet.

“I’m gonna look like Michael B. Jordan when I come back to the game next off-season,” Faulkner said in the video. “I can’t wait for that process because there’s going to be a body transformation.”

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