Mystic’s Tina Charles the latest name to opt-out citing racial justice and COVID risk
It’s the season of change in Washington. This past week, Mystics’ center Tina Charles discovered that she is high-risk for COVID-19, and received a medical exemption to opt-out of the 2020 WNBA season. In a poignant Players’ Tribune article, Charles explained that she was already on the fence to play this season in light of COVID-19 and the continual fight for racial justice.
Charles’s absence will no doubt be a blow to a depleted Washington roster that will already be without most of its starters from last season (including, probably, MVP Elena Delle Donne) and could have benefited from her veteran presence.
The Sparks will look quite different this year but are bringing in forward Reshanda Gray to fill in the gaps. Gray, who grew up in Los Angeles, is back home (figuratively speaking, as teams will play in Florida) and said she is looking forward to playing for a city where she helped put her high school team on the map.
The Next’s Kurtis Zimmerman took a deep-dive into this season’s upcoming coaching milestones, with Washington’s Mike Thibault, Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve, and Las Vegas’s Bill Laimbeer on the verge of leapfrogging leaderboards.
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- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, November 9: Emma Meesseman tests positive for COVID-19
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, November 2: Shakeup in the ACC with Bollin commit, UNC retool
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 19: NCAA shakes up schedules, not scholarships
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 5: Seattle Storm take 2-0 Finals lead
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, September 10: Dream are (mathematically) stayin’ alive
Without Erica Wheeler, two Fever rookies have been thrust into the limelight and expect to receive a significant chunk of playing time this season.
Kathleen Doyle and Julie Allemand, both late-round pick-ups for Indiana, will have a chance to refute the low-impact late-round archetype that often comes into the WNBA too young and inexperienced.
The Connecticut Sun will also bring a different look to Florida as the squad welcomes six new names to a roster that nearly won a championship last seaso. With the loss of star Jonquel Jones, though, head caoch Curt Miller will take all the help he can get.
Sabrina Ionescu, who hasn’t played a bad game ever (probably) told reporters she is “excited to struggle a little bit” once WNBA play starts up the 25th.
While Ionescu has been quiet thus far at camp, she’s focused on bringing the Liberty back into playoff contention. While the odds are stacked against her, New York looks to have picked up a generational talent, and in a season as unpredictable as this one, she may be able to do it.
The college hoops landscape is heating up too, as we learn more about hirings and signings in the NCAA.
Down in College Park, Maryland nabbed four-star guard Mila Reynolds to bolster its backcourt. Reynolds will add a spark to Terps’ offense and could provide valuable skills on the boards at the guard position.
After Duke landed on Kara Lawson as its next big-name coach last week, we started to learn more about what we can expect in her upcoming season (assuming it happens, of course). Over the past few days, there has been outpouring support from former teammates and colleagues. Big things are coming to Durham.